The Queen of Winter
by Flying Thunderbird
Summary: Sequel to 'The Princess of Winter'. After raising the banners against the mad King, Heddara was not about to subject her Kingdom to another's rule. No, no. She would raise the North to its former glory, as the Kings of Winter reigned supreme once more. Fem!Ned
1. Chapter 1

**Here it is! The new story!**

 **Warning: This is a sequel. Please read The Princess of Winter first.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing. At all.**

 **Please leave a comment and review!**

 **I predict around 12 chapters for this one. Hope you like it.**

 **The story will follow Heddara in the years after the Independence. It is all still pre-cannon.**

* * *

Chapter One – Age 20

I

Heddara woke up to the light coming in trough the curtains, and fingers tracing patters on her skin.

She sighed, smiling, and stretching her arm to find him, only for her hand to be caught in his.

"Good morning wife" His husky voice said by her ear, his breath ghosting over her.

She blinked, before finally focusing on him. "Good morning husband" She smiled.

He hummed, brushing his nose on her neck.

"We should get up." She said but made no move to get out of his grasp.

He raised his head to look at her, his smirk growing on his face. "Don't worry, no one expects us before lunch."

"Oh, really?" her voice was teasing, as she moved her hand to brush his hair away from his face. "And what will we be doing until then?"

He laughed. "I have a few ideas!" Before he rolled them around on the bed, bringing her in for a kiss.

* * *

On her wedding feast Heddara had been presented with several gifts, one of them a crown. Lord Umber had apparently been the owner of several old scriptures describing the original Crown of Winter and had commissioned a replica done to her size.

That was the only adornment she wore as she sat at the head of the table in great hall, the snarling wolf perfectly centered with her face and dressed as the warrior she was, Storm by her side as he always had been.

Rohar had walked in slightly behind her, his paces measured and his hand on the pommel of his sword. As Heddara sat, he stood behind her as he took his place as her guard.

This council of Lords was where he would show the Lords what they could expect of him as a consort, and he would give them what they wanted to see.

"Lords and Ladies, welcome to Winterfell." Heddara greeted, nodding towards all of those present.

The great table was full to the brim. In fact, it was made of several tables put together. Not a single Lord was missing. From Jeor Mormont to Howland Reed, every single one of them was accounted for.

"We have much to discuss today." Heddara continued. "The Winter Court is now once more in function, and there are therefore many positions that must be filled. Not only that, but many decisions must be taken to ensure the prosperity of the North."

The Lords nodded. Rohar noticed his brother looking solemn two seats to Heddara's right, between Lord Mormont and Lord Glover. His father was extremely sick back in the Dreadfort and had sent his heir as his representative. It wouldn't take long until his brother became a Lord in his own right.

He wouldn't miss his father much on his death. The man had been distant, and while he had respected him, as he should, he had never much loved him.

"I have called you here, so you may hear my first edicts, and so you may give me your council in the matters of which I am in need of further information." Heddara made eye contact with all those sat at her table. "The North will need the cooperation of all of you to elevate itself into the greatest Kingdom of Westeros."

The Lords nodded and murmured their agreement with her words.

"These last few days I have been in deep discussion with Maester Luwin", she said, gesturing to the man standing behind her and to her left. "We have revised the Governmental structures of the North before the conquest, and the current structure practiced in the south, and have come up with what we believe is the necessary number of positions to better advance our Kingdom."

Heddara accepted a sheet of paper from the Maester, as she continued talking. "I will be inviting the individuals I most believe to have the knowledge and experience needed to lead each of the areas of our government, and those individuals will then bring to me the names of those they believe they will need under their employment in order to serve the people in their positions."

Putting the sheet on the table, Heddara stated clearly. "The governing of the North will now be divided into Orders, that will answer to the Order Master and to the Queen or King of the North. These Orders will be the following: Order of Healing, Order of Guilds, Order of Laws and Justice, Order of Trade, Order of the Army and Royal Guard, Order of the Sea, Order of Infrastructure, Order of Finance and Order of Winter."

Murmuring broke out once again amongst the crowd and Rohar could see several raised eyebrows.

Heddara raised her hand, and silence immediately followed. Rohar contained his smirk.

"These nine areas of ruling will be fundamental to guarantee progress in the North." She looked around with serious eyes. "Each order will be responsible for its own field. For example, the order of..."

* * *

The room Heddara had selected for her council room had been unused for a long time. No one knew what it's purpose had been, but it was now the meeting place of eleven people. Heddara as Queen, Benjen as her heir, and the nine masters of the Orders that had just been sworn in the day before.

Most guests had already left that morning, leaving only young men and woman who would be serving at the Royal court as pages and ladies in waiting. Meanwhile, the members of the Winter Council were meeting for the first time in almost three hundred years.

The half-round table had been Rohar's idea and been commissioned purposefully for this room. Heddara had to admit that she liked it. Being able to see every face in the room was a bonus.

"Welcome to the Winter Council, Lords and Lady" She nodded to Lady Tallhart, whom she had named as the Master of the Order of Finance.

Lady Tallhart was a formidable lady. Now in her forty-second name day, Helyana Tallhart had become a widow very young, when her husband – and cousin – had died in a hunting accident. With two young sons to raise, she had become regent and kept a tight fist over her houses finances, managing to pay all the debts her husband had accumulated during his life – which were quite significant – make savings for her son's rule and still bring the house to a better standing.

Now, her son was old enough to not need her help, and Heddara had promptly stolen her for her brilliant mind.

"Let us start with the most important issues" Heddara started. "Our borders with the Riverlands are the most important aspect of our defense. Baratheon has signed a treaty, but he is not known for his rational thoughts. In a year or two he could find a reason to attack. We must make sure the borders are secure before that happens, but we can't dismiss possible attacks from Ironborn or wildlings."

The others nodded. "Moat Cailin is the priority then, my Queen" Lord Karstark, who had been instated as master of the Order of Infrastructure took a note on a leather book. "What other types of defensive infrastructure should we consider?"

"First the Moat, then the roads from all the major holdfasts to Winterfell. The faster we can move our men, the faster we can position them to defend ourselves" Rohar proposed.

"The Consort speaks right." Lord Manderly said, inclining his head towards Rohar. "As master of the Order of the Army and Royal Guard, he will need roads to move his men. We can build the roads at the same time as we rebuild the moat if we use local men. Half the work involving building roads is all about clearing trees out of the way, so the workers don't need that much experience."

Rohar and Karstark nodded, agreeing with the older man.

"How are we to pay for all that, though?" Lord Glover wondered. "And if all the money will be going towards that, how will the rest of us do anything ourselves?"

Lady Tallhart smiled. "That is quite easy, actually. The North will no longer be sending a percentage of its taxes to the crown in the south. And let me tell you, that according to Maester Luwin, the money the North was sending was incredibly high. The mad King had been raising the taxes during the last decade, and in his paranoia the taxes of the North were some of the most affected. Then, there is the Winterfell coffers. If my Queen would like to explain."

Heddara nodded. "Generations of Starks have been saving money and precious stones in those Vaults. And those same generations of Starks have been very careful with those contents. Too careful sometimes." She shook her head. "I believe there is still quite a bit of loot from the time of Theon the Hungry Wolf."

Lord Umber broke out laughing.

"So, we will be using gold stolen from Andals to fight other Andals? I like it!" He chuckled. "Maybe we should make certain that it is that gold that is used to pay for Moat Cailin especially, my Queen. It would have a sense of poetic justice."

"The Master of Laws and Justice is quite right!" Lady Tallhart said. "What other projects should I take into account for my calculations, my Queen?"

Heddara hummed, looking out at the book she had filled with her thoughts and ideas. "I have considered three phases. First the Moat, the roads to Winterfell and turning a good number of Lord Manderly's boats into war vessels. They can still be used for trade during peace, but we need a fleet that will be able to face the southern eastern sea force." Her master of the Order of the sea nodded. "The second phase will be mostly about boats. I want at least a new port town in the east and two in the west. We cannot let our western shore Keep on being invaded by Ironborn and wildlings. We can't ignore this weak point any longer. And we also need to extend our trading reach. The roads will also help with that."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"It is understandable that these projects will take years and years, until they are completed. Lord Dustin, as Master of the Order of Trade, I want you to find men to go on an expedition through the North. They will collect information about what goods we can use to trade with foreign nations, and where we would better invest our resources. We have many abandoned mines, and in many cases, there is no reason for them to remain that way." Seeing Willam nod, she added. "I believe my brother would be a good option for this venture. Also, coordinate with Lord Manderly and Lord Roose to organize an expedition to the Northern free cities, they might have good products that we can use for trade and will likely have many different foods that will be used to the cold. We should take advantage of any products we can use for winter."

Roose Bolton nodded in agreement.

Appointing her good brother as Master of the Order of Winter had been one of her best ideas. Roose was a very ambitious man, so Keeping him out of the council would be not only foolish, but a blow to his ego. Giving him this position gave him a sense of power, and a responsibility to the people. Making sure the realm survived during the winter was no easy task, considering they lived in the coldest country on the continent.

"Let us adjourn this session until Lady Tallhart has more information for us." Heddara said.

"If I may, my Queen?" Maester Luwin interrupted. "Could I advise Lord Karstark to contact old students of the Citadel? Many men go to oldtown to study various subjects, without ever intending to join the order of Maesters. I know many men who studied Architecture, Engineering and Ship Building, and that left once they earned those links."

Heddara hummed. "Any of them could be trusted with our secrets?"

The Maester looked contemplative. "One of them was northern, so I would say yes. The others were southern, but I believe they would honor an accepted a contract. We could always assign those men to less critical projects, such as mining or ship building."

Heddara pondered for a minute. It would be too risky to give unknown men positions where they would be able to uncover northern secrets, much less put them in place to build the fortress that would guard the North, but there would be many building projects taking off in the next few years, and many of them were not critical.

"Very well. Send the ravens. I want to speak to each of them before any contracts are agreed upon." She tapped her fingers on the table. "And prepare letters to be sent to all holdfasts. I want every Lord to propose men to be sent to the citadel to forge their chains in various subjects. We need to have knowledgeable men in our ranks. And the Gods know the Citadel won't refuse our coin."

* * *

Rohar walked down the line of men with Martyn Cassel, carefully inspecting each of them. As the master of the Order of the Army and Royal Guard, it was his duty to choose the men who would be guarding his wife and closest family.

Some Lords had asked about creating a northern version of the Kingsguard, but Heddara had not been at all interested in recreating what she saw as an inefficient and slightly corrupt organization. Instead she had given her husband the power needed to create a Royal Guard and organize an army that would defend their rule.

No one had been able to question that choice, so Rohar had accepted the position, and sworn to uphold it with honor and integrity.

He already knew the men he wanted for the Guard. Those who he had seen in action in the war and whose loyalty was to him and Heddara alone. In the ranks of the fifty men he had selected, only two were originally from his lands.

He didn't need Bolton men. He needed _his_ men.

These fifty men would still be going through severe training, and tests of loyalty. Very specific tests of loyalty. He wasn't leaving the protection of his family to chance.

Apart from the Royal Guard, he also had plans for a city watch for Winter town. A safe and peaceful city, meant a safer holdfast.

Then he would turn his sights towards the Moat, and the forces holding it under Lord Karstark's brother.

* * *

"So, Stanis Baratheon was not on time to catch the last Targaryens and their loyal Kingsguard? I bet his brother is not happy" Rohar said, after Heddara finished relating the news in the letter.

Heddara snorted. "That is an understatement. He apparently came extremely close to banishing him to Dragonstone. Only Jon Arryn's fear of upsetting the Riverlands kept him from doing so." She waved the letter at him. "As it stands, Stanis betrothal is what kept him as Lord of Storms End. Baratheon has given the Island to his youngest brother."

Rohar nodded. "And when will the two brothers wed?"

Heddara chuckled. "Knowing how much time it takes to prepare a royal wedding? Probably not any time soon."

Rohar laughed. "Your right Dara, I wouldn't be surprised if they were still unmarried in three moons." He smirked. "I have to applaud you once more, on finding such a way of obtaining information from the south."

"Why, thank you" She said, teasing him with a wink, that made him growl and pull her to bed for other activities.

* * *

Heddara sat down on the window seat, looking down at the courtyard where her master at arms was training a group of guards.

Things had been happening so fast. Sometimes it felt like it was going too fast.

Lord Willam Dustin had joined forces with Lord Karstark to do a survey on the Northern trade possibilities and the state of infrastructures. They had sent several men, led by cousins and brothers on this mission, and taken Ben with them. It would do him good to have a taste of adventure other than stories.

So focused – and excited, she would admit – had she been on the changes she wanted to bring to the North that she had lost touch with other issues.

She heard the door to the room open, and close, as Rohar came into her solar.

"Maester Luwin said you sent for me? Is everything alright?" He asked, his voice full of concern.

She turned around, and saw his face turn worried as he saw the tears in her eyes.

"What's wrong, my love?" He took her hands and pushed her up.

She chuckled. "Nothing is wrong." She smiled. "I'm pregnant"

He opened his mouth in surprise, before letting out his own laugh, picking her up and swinging her around in celebration.

* * *

The months passed quickly. Sometimes Rohar didn't know where the time went. His wife was with child and had started to show slightly, and he found that he couldn't Keep his hands to himself.

They were both incredibly happy, and the whole castle knew it. He had lost count of the number of times he had caught the maids smiling at them in fondness.

Well, why discourage positive feelings towards one's ruler?

On another note, the Baratheon brothers had finally married, and while Stanis seemed to be doing relatively well with his new trout wife, the King and the new Lannister Queen were a whole other story.

He smirked. Heddara's contacts in the south continued to prove fruitful. Many Northerners probably believed that Heddara had refrained from creating a mirror position to the master of Whispers due to some sense of honor or mistrust of spies, but in truth his wife had no such problem.

Instead she had a completely different approach to the issue.

She had given the position to the only creature in the entire realm she could completely trust.

Herself.

She had used the appreciation and gratitude of the people in Kings Landing to create ties with smallfolk of several status, that passed information between them until it reached hands capable of writing, who then sent the letters north through private birds.

She had people in the brothels, in the servants in the Keep, in the guards, in the blacksmiths, in the seamstresses. All of them with unshakable loyalty after the Northern army saved them from the pillaging and rape that the Lannisters had started to rage over the city.

And not only that, but Heddara had made sure to lightly bond with small rodents and cats that lived in the walls of the old Keeps they had passed through in the south, and frequently used them to spy on its inhabitant's conversations.

Walls had ears indeed.

It was hard for her to warg to a place so far away as Kings Landing, but not impossible. It left her weak though, so he had insisted that she not do it while pregnant. They had enough informants as it was.

Riverrun, where she had also left some "friends" was much easier. So were the various Northern holdfasts where she had sent animals recently.

He smirked. He couldn't help but imagine the face of the spider if he knew he was being outclassed at spying.

After all, spiders might be good at weaving webs to catch their prey, but they were not true predators. They were but a mere sniff for a wolf on the prowl.

* * *

"Do you think it will be a boy or a girl?" Rohar asked, as he petted her distended stomach while they laid in bed.

"Hum?" She asked, sleepily. "I don't know. I just want the baby to be safe and happy." She raised her hand to brush it over his head as he murmured to their babe. "Do you care either way?"

He shook his head, giving her a smile. "No, but we should consider names." He petted her belly again. "What do you think, little one? Are you an Arya, like your grandmother? A Sansa, or a Serena, like many Stark Princesses? Or maybe you'll be a great warrior man, like Theon the hungry wolf, or maybe Rodrik, in honor of all those brave Mormont women? Huh? Which one do you like?"

The baby chose that moment to give a kick, and Heddara laughed, as that didn't really answer the question.

"I think we will have to look at the babe to be able to see which name fits, my love" She said, as Rohar, smiled softy at were the baby had kicked at his hand.

"I guess so."


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for All the Reviews! Unfortunately, my job makes it difficult to reply to all of you, but I hope you know how much I enjoy reading them!**

 **I know a lot of you were wondering where Jon was, but fear not, he will be in this chapter, if briefly. Heddara's children will be mostly babies or small children and will only appear in passing in the story, as they're not the main characters.**

 **Hope you enjoy this chapter! Tell me what you think, and what you would like to see happen.**

 **When you read this, take into account that this is the North we are talking about. Land of practical people, not prone to too much gossip.**

* * *

Chapter 2 – Age 20

II

"What news do you have for us, Lord Dustin, Benjen" Heddara asked, smiling at her brother from behind her desk in her solar.

Unlike in the south, the Northern council was not in court during the whole year. No northern man would be able to stand being coped up inside Winterfell, constantly pouring over paperwork.

Not even Roose, and that was saying something.

Instead she kept with her Lady Tallhart as the Master of the Order of Finance and Maester Luwin, as the Master of the Order of Healing. The two of them coordinated with the masters of the other Orders, who had all by now appointed several secretaries – mostly trusted brothers or cousins – that served in the council room if needed. Maester Luwin, whose Order was still mostly unfunded, and therefore had practically no work – for now that was – was a great help in coordinating the work between the Orders.

Anyway, this arrangement served her well. She did not wish to have a hoard of powerful Lords circling around, constantly trying to outdo each other in some male pissing contest.

Secretaries where much easier to deal with. They lacked the true power to face her, and their presence in the capital freed up the council members to do their jobs – which in most cases revolved around places very far from her seat.

Great Jon was having great fun organizing men to spread the laws around the northern holdfasts. Heddara hadn't changed much, but one thing she had made sure was clear was that the rite of first night would not be tolerated in any way, and that those who practiced it would be given the same punishment as a rapper, no matter one's birth. It had only taken Great Jon dragging a lesser Lord's third son out of his bed chambers by the collar of his shirt to show how serious she was about it.

The boy had chosen the Wall, and there had been no more talks about it.

At least in public. She had no doubt the brothels had been ripe with it.

"We have compiled a list of all the significant trade opportunities, per region my Queen. As you suggested, I sent my own men in every direction in the North. The various groups were led by myself, Lord Karstark's brothers and our cousins. Your brother was part of my own group, and I must say he was a very good help." Willam nodded at Ben, showing his appreciation. "I believe Lord Karstark will send you his findings on the overall state of infrastructures in our Kingdom in the next few days.

Benjen smiled at her, enjoying the praise. The travels had done him good. His skin was tanned by the sun, and a slight stubble had started to grow on his chin. When they had greeted each other earlier he had been busing with energy, telling her all about the amazing things he had seen.

She was glad. She hopped that now he understood that sometimes you didn't need to travel to the end of the world to see incredible things.

Or at least that you could go there after you had seen everything else first.

No need to rush.

"I am glad to hear it, Willam." Heddara said, nodding, and accepting the scrolls from her old friend. Wars brought people together, after all, and it made one drop official titles in private. "What are the most relevant, in your opinion."

Willam rubbed his chin, considering his words carefully.

"Well, my Queen, it is quite obvious when one looks at it that, currently, our major trade options are in some way derived from either wood, sheep, goats or fish. And for good reason. Goats eat almost anything, so it's very easy to Keep them fed through winter, and fish are very abundant in our waters. There is already some established trade with the Riverlands in wool, cheese and dried fish."

Heddara hummed. "What else then? As you said, none of that is exactly unexpected news."

He nodded. "I followed your advice and looked for abandoned mines. I found many more than expected. Too many, I would say." He frowned. "According to local smallfolk, many of the mines were used for basalt and dragonglass, which might explain why they were abandoned. Neither is very profitable. But most of the mines have good metal in them. Iron and copper mostly."

"We have some samples to show master Luwin. That way he can see which one are good or not." Benjen added.

She nodded. That was a good idea.

"However, my Queen, I must say none of those are the true treasure we found in the North" Lord Dustin said, smirking in obvious pleasure.

Heddara contained the childish urge to roll her eyes. The man had probably left for last the one thing he believed to be a true finding, in an effort to appear mysterious and leave an impression with her.

"And what is it?" She asked, playing along.

"The oil seeps, my Queen."

Heddara blinked in surprise. "The oil seeps? But aren't those things described by the smallfolk and the Maesters as dangerous and annoying? They can taint the fields if you aren't careful with them and aren't good for many useful things."

Willam and Benjen smiled. "Apparently that's not exactly true. The Maesters mustn't have really studied those things but many smallfolk have found uses for the oil that comes out of the rocks over the years." He took a piece of wood from a satchel he had brought in with him and gave it to her

On one side, the polished wood touched her fingers, on the other, a thin, black, strange substance had formed. She poked it with her finger and while it couldn't be considered hard as rock, t was not exactly soft either.

"That is the oil. After drying it becomes liked that. It Keeps the water away, so the smallfolk on the shores of the lakes in the Rills have been coating their fishing boats in it."

That sparkled her interest. "Is that so? That could be useful. Especially if it can be put on other things. Like roofs and tents." She rapped her nails on the black surface, before pulling her dagger from her boot and poking it. The strange material resisted, but eventually succumbed to the blade. "No good against blades, but it could still Keep the water away from the person inside an armor, as long as it doesn't make it too heavier."

She frowned. "It is said that the oil seeps can catch fire during storms, because the oil burns even faster than whale or seal fat." She eyed a candle sitting close by but decided not to experiment indoors. She had no wish to catch fire to her home.

Willam nodded. "That is all true my Queen. We still need to consider other uses for this new material and test its fire resistance. What I believe you would be more interested in is actually something Lord Karstark's cousin found in a smallfolk village in the foot of the lonely hills."

He motioned for one of his servants to come over and bring a heavily bundled object. The servant carefully positioned it on her table and took away the rolls of cloth that had been used to protect it during the travel. Inside was a strange contraption made of metal, with a fat string coming out, that immediately reminded her of a wick.

"Is that...?" She started, before stopping, uncertain. For some reason it reminded her of an oil lamp, but at the same time not. It was metal, and in a cylindrical in shape, instead of like a teacup as they usually where, and the wick was much bigger, but it had an almost surreal resemblance. It even had a small place to hold it.

"An old blacksmith wondered if he could use the oil for fire, instead of using candles. Their village has a big seep nearby, and it would be cheaper to use it instead of buying wax for candles or whale oil for the little oil lamps. He figured he could use a metal container for the oil" he pointed at the metal casing. "And copied the basic design of an oil lamp. He had some troubles with the oil itself. Apparently, it was too strong, smelled to badly and made too much smoke when it burned. So, he gave up."

Willam smiled then, going over to pick up the candle she had looked at earlier, and bringing it around to where the metal oil lamp stood.

"It was only by chance, years later, that his son decided to get rid of his father's things and burned the oil lamp, with oil inside it, and noticed something happening with it. He experimented and discovered that by boiling it, it would change properties. He didn't truly understand what happened. I doubt anyone not a Maester could, but what he found was that by boiling it like one boils water, and Keeping only the parts he wanted, like one gathers the pure vapors, he made a mixture that gave a good light."

He fed the candle flame to the lamp's wick, and it caught fire, burning with a clear, whiter flame.

Heddara, looked at the lamp, coming closer and gently picking it up, so she could get it to her level.

"So, what do you think, my Queen?" Lord Dustin asked, an excite grin on his face.

Heddara put the lamp down and got back into her seat. Hidden by the desk, she rubbed her child through her stomach, trying to calm down it's kicks.

"I think we must invite that blacksmith to Winterfell for a meeting with Maester Luwin."

* * *

Heddara followed the sound of a crying babe to the nursery, where she found Jon being comforted by his nursemaid.

"My Queen! I'm sorry for the noise." The maid said, as she curtsied hastily.

Heddara motioned for her to rise, and gently took her nephew into her own arms. "It is fine, babies cry."

She dismissed the maid as she gently rocked the child.

"What is the matter little one?" She whispered, giving him a kiss to his brow, and rubbing his nose with hers, prompting him to giggle softly. "Now that is better. You're about to be a big cousin, you have to be a big boy to take care of him or her."

She tickled his tummy and smiled as he let out more giggles and gave her a smile.

Already she knew most Lords understood that Jon was not her late brother's son. Barbrey Ryswell, Willam's wife, had made a few comments on how incredibly gifted Lady Ashara must have been to be able to carry the child for at least six and ten months, considering the boys apparent age.

The Lady had sent her a smile with the comment, so she understood that her words had not been born out of malice. Thankfully, Lady Dustin appeared to be thankful for her husband and her brothers safe return home and was not holding a grudge over her father's refusal of her betrothal to Brandon. The position she had given Willam on her council probably helped with that.

For now, the situation was to her advantage. Jon was safe from southern attention, as the Lords in the North knew not to speak of the issue where it could be overheard. In time, when the Moat was ready, and their shores secure, then she would let the knowledge that Jon was Lya's son slowly spread among the people.

For now, she would Keep to her words. Jon was her nephew, born in Dorne and discovered by her husband as he secured a ship to take Lyanna's bones back north. She had never stated who the mother or father were, but everyone had immediately jumped to Brandon's and Ashara's obvious fascination with each other, just as Rohar had predicted they would.

Without looking at the babe, one couldn't tell his age, so no one could refute those claims.

It would remain so, for now. Jon would be told the truth as he grew up. His cousins would be as siblings to him, and when the time came, she would make sure he could follow whatever path he chose for his future. Maybe she would legitimize him, when she was sure he would be safe.

She was glad her sister's son would be able to grow happy.

She would make sure of it.

* * *

Heddara passed Rohar a letter, as she picked up another. One week to go until she gave birth, and she could no longer stand comfortably. Her ankles were swollen, and she couldn't even see them properly. Rohar, gods bless him, massaged them daily, which helped immensely.

In truth she should have been confined to her rooms, but she had put her foot down and insisted on being allowed to move from her rooms to her solar, so she could work.

At least she had not suffered from sickness at all.

"Ah, my brother got betrothed. To Bethany Ryswell." Rohar commented.

Benjen raised his head from the sums he was working on. "Willam's good sister?"

"Yes." Rohar said. "My nephews and nieces will have good horses when they grow."

Heddara turned their conversation out, as she read the letter in front of her.

The Dornish were finally making contact.

After the war, she had sent Baratheon a notice with the news of her sister's death as the Northern army made its way home. From what she had gathered, it hadn't taken him more than a day to get a new betrothed.

"The Dornish will be visiting us soon." She said, bringing her husband and brother's attention back to her.

"Oh, is that so?" Rohar smirked at her. "Has Doran finally gotten tired of laying low?"

She chuckled. "Apparently"

Benjen frowned. "I still don't get why they didn't just declare independence. They were in the perfect position to do it."

Rohar shook his head. "They lost too many men at the trident. If they rebelled, all Baratheon had to do was ride full force down to Susnpear and he would have them." He sighed. "The Dornish would have resisted, like they did to the Targaryens, but it would have been too bloody for them. Doran didn't want to risk it."

Benjen nodded, looking contemplative.

"Anyway, we will soon meet the youngest Martel. As we speak the viper is making its way North, along with two former white cloaks." Heddara stated, picking up her quill to write a reply.


	3. Chapter 3

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 **On with the story. This is the last chapter of the first part of this story. Next chapter things will start to heat up a little. J**

* * *

Chapter 3 – Age 20

III

The day his son was born was a bright one. No clouds covered the sun and the birds sang in the Godswood.

Thankfully, his frequent trips to the Godswoods to pray for an easy birth had payed fruit. His son came out screaming his lungs out only four hours after Dara's waters first broke.

Not that they hadn't been four painful and harrying hours. Heddara's screams had put to test his patience and he had almost gone inside their rooms more than once, no matter what the social norms stated about men in the birthing chamber.

Holding him now, he couldn't take his eyes off of him. He was leaning onto the headboard of their bed, with Dara tiredly looking over his arms at their child. Both of them were smiling like idiots, admiring the life they had created.

"He is beautiful." Heddara said softly, raising a finger to gently brush over the small cheekbones.

Rohar smiled at her and reach down to press a kiss to her brow. "That he is." He said just as softly, not wanting to wake the babe.

"So what name do you think would suit him best?" He asked. "I guess we can leave out Sansa or Serena."

Dara chuckled. "That would be for the best, yes." She hummed softly, when the boy fidgeted in his arms.

"I quite liked Rodrick." She said. "Maege and her little girls will get a kick out of it."

He brushed the fine baby hairs from his son's forehead and kissed him. "You hear that, Rodrick? Welcome to the North."

* * *

Rohar sat himself on his seat in his solar, gesturing for his guests to do the same.

"What news do you have for me, Maester, secretary.?" He asked, looking between the two men.

Predicting the need for rest after giving birth, Heddara had proclaimed Rohar regent for a period of one week after the event, during the last council meeting. It was understood that Rohar's role would be more focused on attending guests and receiving reports, and that all major decisions would be either postponed, or taken to Heddara's chamber in private.

"The road plan is advancing at a very good pace. Most of the roads given priority in the plan Queen Heddara approved have either been completed or are almost finished." Mika Karstark, Lord Karstarks cousin and his appointed secretary to court said, putting the map of the North with the roads drawn over, that he remembered seeing before. Heddara had chosen nine roads she considered to be the most important, which were painted in red, and seven other branches of road she had considered less urgent, painted in blue.

"Well, I would certainly not call them finished. Not with the weather in the North they aren't." The man sitting beside Maester Luwin said gruffly.

Jonah Snow, Maester Luwin's acquaintance from the citadel, was a very interesting individual. A very direct and no-nonsense person, he seemed at home with numbers and calculations, but had engineering strokes of brilliance. Born the bastard son of the former Lord Flint from Widow's Watch, he had the fortune of being born after said Lord was already widowed, which allowed his father to feel perfectly comfortable in bringing him into his own home after his mother's passing. He had been raised alongside his siblings, forming familial bonds with his blood family. Later, after his father had died, his brother had seen his interest in building things and had offered to send him to learn at the citadel.

Boldened by the learning environment the Maesters fostered on their fortress, Jonah had earned several chains, from architecture to economics and ship building. When Luwin had contacted him, the man had been ready to leave for the Riverlands, where Lord Tully had been hiring people to help rebuild several holdfasts damaged during the war.

The call of the North, had been too tempting, especially with the opportunity of going back to his own land and working directly for the Queen.

"The trees and other vegetation have been cut. The local smallfolk were all too willing to do that job since the Queen was paying good coin for it and allowed the wood to be sold to the workers at very good prices. Never seen anyone work that fast." Jonah said, crossing his arms over his chest. "But that is not enough to make a road. For horses it might be good enough, but as soon as any serious rain falls, you will have a muddy disgrace in front of you and any cart that tries to face it will just be sucked into the ground. Not to mention the overgrowth that you will face every few months, which means recutting any saplings that might appear in less used stretches."

Rohar frowned. He understood what the man was saying, but unfortunately that was the truth of most roads across all of Westeros. They were only as good as the local weather and ground.

"Then what do you consider a proper road? What else needs to be done?" He asked.

"I can see your confusion, my Lord. For Westeros standards, those roads would only need some ditches on the sides for the water could flow into, and that would be that, but I believe our Queen wishes for roads better than that." He rubbed his beard, considering. "In oldtown, the streets near the citadel are paved in the red stone of the Dornish mountains. That is what I believe would be the way to go. The only question is what should be used to pave the roads. There is no red stone in the North, and it's not a good stone for our weather anyway. It is said that all the streets of Bravos are paved in a dark stone. Unfortunately, I have never been there, so the type of stone is unknown to me."

Rohar drummed his fingers on the tables, as he analyzed the map. "If we don't know what to use to pave the roads, then it will have to wait. For now, do as best as you can without it. Have the workers dig those ditches." The man nodded, looking resigned. "Lord Manderly's last emissaries to Essos have just arrived back and we can expect him to come to Winterfell personally to give his report. We will try to find out what the Bravosi use to pave their streets. In the meantime, start considering the other roads." He pointed to two branches in red. "We now have a road that connects White Harbor to the North Road, and both Hornwood and the Dreadfort have roads that go in the direction of Winterfell, meeting at the white knife, correct?"

Wanting to abandon most southern names and conventions, the people had quickly started calling the Kingsroad the North road, and the name had caught fast enough that Heddara had decided to use it herself.

Karstark nodded. "Yes. The river there is very calm, so we built a barge for the crossing that can be pulled by ropes that have been secured at each side of the river. A few horses or mules can easily do the job. Not as fast as crossing a bridge, but it was much cheaper and faster to build." He slapped Jonah on the back. "Directly from this brilliant mind.

Jonah huffed, clearly uncomfortable with the praise. "The barge will be good enough for now. The Queen can charge a toll, and latter build a bridge there with the profits."

"Good." Rohar said satisfied. "Then for the second phase let's start with the roads from White Harbor to Hornwood, and from Hornwood to the Dreadfort." He said, tapping the blue lines on the map. "I will discuss this with the Queen this afternoon and we will see what she says."

"Very well my Lord" The secretary said, taking note of it.

"Lady Tallhart" He said, turning to the woman who had been silently observing the conversation and taking notes. "Please have an estimation of costs for these roads ready for my conversation with the Queen."

Lady Tallhart nodded. "Very well my Lord. I will consider the costs of the other roads and its size."

"Now" Rohar said, trying to steer the discussion into another subject. "How goes the moat?"

Jonah, Luwin and Mika Karstark all smiled.

"I never thought I would see the Moat rebuilt in my life!" Jonah said with a laugh. "Or that I would get the honor of engineering it myself! Ah!" He said, suddenly excited. "The building is going very well. You see, here are the plans, you see we decided to..."

* * *

"Welcome to the North, Prince Oberyn, Prince Lewyn, Ser Arthur." Heddara greeted from her throne in the great hall.

Her disdain for the gaudy southern throne had made sure her own was not only a more elegant chair, but also a perfectly comfortable one. It stood on the dais, with two smaller seats on each side, one for Rohar and the other for Benjen.

"Queen Heddara" the younger Prince greeted, sending her a charming smirk. "I must say you look the vision of beauty. Motherhood must suit you."

She smiled politely. The man certainly didn't keep his comments to himself. The rumors about him were very accurate.

On each side of him, the former Kingsguard members bowed respectfully until she gave them leave to rise.

"Thank you for the kind words, Prince Oberyn. I trust you had a pleasant and swift travel?" The Dornish contingent had made its way to Winterfell from White Harbor faster than she expected.

"Hah, yes." Prince Oberyn said, his smile growing bigger. "The new road from White Harbor to the Kings... excuse me, the North road, made the travel much faster. And my travel companions were very good Company, I must admit."

He nodded towards Lord Manderly and his men.

"My Queen, Consort." The Lord of White Harbor bowed down as he came forward.

"Lord Manderly, you may rise." She said, smiling at the man. "I thank you for escorting our esteemed guests into our halls."

"It was an honor, my Queen."

Heddara nodded, before gesturing for two of her higher ranked servants to come forward. "We have prepared rooms for your parties, Prince Oberyn, Lord Manderly. I am sure you are all quite in need of resting and washing away the dirt of the road. Please accept our offer of bread and salt, before we show you to your accommodations."

The servants came forward with platers of the traditional offering.

"I hope you will be in the mood for festivities. A believe a feast in your honor is being prepared as we speak."

* * *

Sitting at the Queen's table in the great hall of Winterfell, Oberyn couldn't help but be impressed with the sights.

Oh, he could certainly see what made the people bellow the Neck call the Northerners savages. They spoke loudly and dressed with practicality in mind. The Queen herself – siting to his right – was now wearing a delightful blue dress – if slightly too modest for his tastes – that although artfully decorated and of good quality, would have been disdained in any southern court for its lack of... majestic factor? Not to mention that the dress itself was cleverly designed to allow for freedom of movement, the beautiful dagger decorating her waist as sharp as any other. Even when she had greeted him that afternoon she had been dressed in training leathers, a sword by her side. That would have been scandalous enough to make Septas faint.

But the lively atmosphere, and the lack of tension and political intrigue certainly made up for it. He could feel himself relax in the friendly environment.

He looked over at the Queen and her consort once again. They made a striking couple, certainly. Heddara Stark was a lucky woman, to get herself such a handsome man.

Suddenly finding himself staring the Prince Consort in the eyes, Oberyn felt a smirk growing in his face.

"Well, Consort, I must say that no one warned me of your magnificent looks. Have you ever explored the pleasure of your own gender?" The man in question appeared to have chocked on air. On his other side he could hear his uncle sighing in exasperation. "I would be delighted to show you such things." He smiled charmingly.

Beside him the Queen snorted, before giving him a smirk. "My Prince, if you are in such trouble, might I suggest the use of your hand in private? Going after a married man shows a very worrying lack of self-control for a man of your age, after all"

Oberyn was momentarily startled, before letting out a bark of laughter.

It seemed he would get along well with this Stark.

* * *

"I must personally thank you, for the gift you sent with my uncle south." Prince Oberyn said, before raising his goblet in a toast. His smirk showed how much he had enjoyed receiving the head of his sister's murderer.

Heddara smirked. "I had no use for it. I'm glad you found some"

Oberyn let out a bark of laughter. "I had it embalmed and mounted on a pike. I use it for target practice." He sneered, probably remembering his last 'practice' session.

Heddara snorted. Some men's propensity for gruesome pastimes didn't faze her anymore. Not when her own husband had a torture knifes collection.

"On a more pleasant matter, my Queen, I must say that for someone that has given birth just one moon ago, your figure is marvelous." He said, winking at her and making Rohar, sitting to her right, shake his head in exasperation.

Heddara smiled. "I'm not one to sit around all day, Prince Oberyn. A ruler must always be ready to lead his or her troops."

He nodded, his face turning serious at the mention of war.

The truth of the matter was that Heddara didn't trust Robert Baratheon's finicky moods. For now, he had held on to the treaty he had signed. But during that time his new Kingdom had been rebuilding itself and smoothing over the frictions between the Targaryen loyalists and the rebels.

So, she had made sure to keep up with her practices for as long as possible during her pregnancy – even if it was only against training posts as no one wanted to risk hitting her in her condition – and to get back into fighting shape as soon as master Luwin had said it was safe to do so. She still lacked some muscle mass to be completely back into her form, but it wouldn't take her to long to get there.

Hopefully, her visitors would help her Keep Baratheon out of her borders.

"Tell me, Prince Oberyn, what has brought you to my Kingdom, beyond the wish to thank me in person."

"Ah, right to the point I see." The man smirked, bringing his hand up to support his chin. "Dorne is interested in pursuing an alliance with the North. We are already such good friends!"

His air of arrogance and laziness might fool others into believing he was uncultured in the arts of negotiation, but she had never been one to fall for such notions.

Oh, no. Oberyn Martel wore his arrogance as a mask and a weapon to irritate his enemies. She had no doubt he had annoyed many opponents into emptying purses.

"The North has many resources necessary to survive a winter. Most important of them all, your wood."

Heddara saw Prince Lewin grimace at his nephew's words.

"If this last winter has thought the Dornish something, it is that one can never have too much wood."

Heddara smiled in comprehension.

The last winter had not been incredibly long in historical matters, but it had lasted three years more than the Maesters had predicted. The North understood Winter like no other, so the Kingdom had been ready for it, but all those Southerners that faithfully believed in all those mathematical predictions had found themselves having to ration their supplies with more caution than normal.

Dorne had been especially affected due to the fact that it held virtually no forests. Due to its geographical location, it had plenty of orchards that guaranteed fruits even during winter, but no trees that could be cut for wood. They had ended up importing wood from the North itself, at very advantageous prices to Heddara's late father.

"Yes, I can see why you would think so." She said, nodding. "And what would Dorne offer the North in return?"

The youngest Prince gave her an easy smirk. "If Dorne has a need of wood, the North has a need of fruits. We can complement each other in this venture."

Heddara narrowed her eyes, considering, before she gave him a smirk of her own.

"I believe we can come to an agreement, Prince Oberyn, Prince Lewyn. There are some other things that can be of use to each of us in the others Realm. The North can provide Dorne with more than wood: resins, oil and iron are just some of the things we are currently working on." She smiled. "And we are also interested in other products from Dorne."

* * *

Rohar knew that Heddara wasn't simply interested in a trade agreement for fruits and other types of food. That would be a short-term coup, but in the long term, it would keep them dependent of another Kingdom, and they had both agreed that that was not a good thing.

No. What Heddara truly wanted out of Done was another thing entirely.

Glass.

Fragile, coveted and expensive sheets of glass.

The price of glass didn't come from the fact that it was terribly difficult to make. Glass itself was pretty easy to create. Rohar had read on it with his wife when they were looking for information and, by giving precise instructions to the best blacksmith in Winterfell they had managed to make glass themselves.

Only problem was, it was a foggy, dirty glass. Good enough for a peasant's window, but not for the use they wanted to give it.

According to the information Lord Manderly had uncovered on his several voyages in Essos during the last year, Myrish glass was considered the best in the world not only due to the secret techniques of its forging, but also due to the Sands of Myr, the whitest sands in the known world. The rulers of the city kept a close eye on their sand, refusing to trade it and severely punishing anyone attempting to collect it.

In comparison, the North had virtually no sandy beaches. Most of the coast was filled with rocky cliffs and beaches made out of small pebbles. The few existing beaches were filled with dark sand made out of rather big grains.

Dorne was another story altogether. Rohar remembered his time in Starfall perfectly. Long beaches filled with white sand could be seen all the way along the coast. Sand was something that the Dornish had in abundance.

If they could entice a lesser Myrish glass maker into accepting a new employer, they could have a new – and much cheaper – glass house in every holdfast by this time next year. Even without the Myrish man they might be able to create good enough glass on their own.

They just needed the sand.

"That sounds very interesting my Queen" Prince Oberyn drawled with a frown, clearly disliking the idea. "However, while I am here in the pursuit of a friendship and an alliance, there is no advantage to Dorne in this proposal."

Unfortunately, the man was right.

Fortunately, Heddara was prepared.

"That is true" His wife said with a nod. "If we raise the number of glasshouses the need for food will decrease, even though it will likely never be possible for the North to completely become independent in food production."

Heddara joined her hands and leaned her chin against them. "In trade of sand to help the North combat its need of food, we will help Dorne in its need for wood, by providing trees that can sustain the harshness of sand, so that your country can raise its own supply."

The faces of the Dornish party easily betrayed their interest and curiosity in the matter.

"How so?" Prince Lewyn asked, eyes narrowing.

"To the east of us lies House Glover's seat, Deepwood Motte. It is one of the only places in the North where you can find sand, although I am quite certain you wouldn't call it sand at all." She gave the man in front of her a smirk when he rolled his eyes. "It is, however, thin enough to be carried by the wind. And that area has enough of it for the sand to be carried for leagues, tainting the soil and killing farming and grazing land."

Prince Lewyn leaned forward, interested in the explanation. The man probably recognized the situation as one he had witnessed many times.

"Many centuries ago lived King Edwyn Stark, who did many things in his reign, but the most important, the one that made him become known as 'The spring King', was his order to plant Pinus trees all along that coastal area. House Glover protested that if they planted trees, they would lose even more farmland, but King Edwyn insisted. Thousands of saplings were planted and taken care of by house Glover. It took only five years to see results. The trees blocked the sand from spreading with the wind and were sturdy enough to resist the poor soil and scarcity of water. In the end house Glover was able to regain their farming and grazing lands, but decided that their true profit would come from the trees they had been so reluctant to plant. They are now one of the North's greatest providers of firewood and resin."

Prince Oberyn scrutinized Heddara trough narrowed eyes.

"And you believe those trees will survive the Dornish weather?" He asked, unconvinced.

Heddara smiled benignly. "There is no reason why they shouldn't, if the places are chosen carefully. The trees need less water, but they still do require it. Dorne will probably never become independent in its wood production, but it will at least have some." She explained. "Lord Manderly tells me that he has seen such trees in Pentos, were they grow them for their seeds. A very expensive delicacy, apparently."

Prince Oberyn rubbed his chin. "Let us speak more on this issue. How exactly would one go about..."

* * *

The details of the trade agreement had just been hammered out when the Martel Prince came up with a subject no Northerner wish to discuss with someone from bellow the Neck.

"What plans do you have for the young Prince?"

Heddara had to restrain herself from outwardly reacting. As it was, her hands had shaken, and she was glad that they were hidden by the table.

She schooled her face into a frown. "Who are you talking about, Prince Oberyn? Your brother has a daughter and Baratheon's child hasn't been born yet"

The younger Martel smirked. "We both know whom I speak of." He said, turning his eyes to his uncle, and then to Arthur Dayne, who was leaning against the wall in his position as a Martel guard.

"I have no care at all for Prince Viserys if that is what you mean. What he does with is life is completely indifferent to me as long as he doesn't attempt to raise arms against my Kingdom."

Oberyn narrowed his eyes. "Let us do away with these false platitudes, they bore me. I know who your bastard nephew's mother really is. I must admit that while the mere mention of the woman irks me for all the trouble she caused, I have no wish to hurt a defenseless babe. So, what do you intend to do with him? Will you gift him a Kingdom on his coming of age?"

Heddara glared at the two former Kingsguard in irritation, realizing that it made no sense to try to avoid the subject.

"If this is how you keep your vows, I must ask myself how the mad King survived for so long." She spited out, furious with the two men.

Before she had left the Tower of Joy, she had made them all swear on their lives, their white cloaks and anything else she could think of that they wouldn't reveal Jon's true parentage to anyone, not even other Targaryens.

Lewyn bowed his head, and she could see the shame in his countenance.

"It was me my Queen." He said, his head still bent. "Only my two nephews know of this and they would never tell the usurper. I believed it necessary in order to prepare for the Prince's future."

Heddara sighed, her patience running out.

"Ser Arthur, come closer. I can see it in your eyes that you agree with your sworn brother. Let me once again make things very clear. To everyone." She looked Prince Oberyn in the eyes, before facing the other two men in the same way. "The North is independent, and if I have any say in it, it will continue being so forevermore. I did not face a bloody war to end the occupation of my homeland by a mad dynasty just to then subjugate my people to a gaudy throne and corrupt faith two decades later. Even if it would be to mine own nephew."

Beside her, Rohar added. "The North knows no King but the King in the North whose name is Stark."

She nodded in agreement. Before adding, making sure to look at each man in the eye.

"The North will not raise its banners for the Iron Throne. For no one." The men in front of her finally nodded, disappointed expressions on the faces of the former Kingsguard, and a contemplating one on Oberyn's. She leaned against her chair, now that she felt that her point had been understood. "I will eventually tell my nephew about his origins. What he does with that knowledge will be up to him."

She looked at the three men in front of her once more, before adding one last statement.

"Instead of considering alternatives to Baratheon, maybe you should be considering strategies that will lead you towards your own independence."

* * *

"Thank you for your report, Lord Manderly, Lord Ryswell. It was very insightful." She praised her Magnar of the Sea and the secretary to the court of Lord Dustin.

The people of the North had taken to using the old tongue word for Lord as an easier title for the Masters of the Orders. It had easily caught on and even the Lords were using it now.

"I'm certain Lord Dustin would have given you the report himself as Magnar of trade, but he rushed to his seat to great his first child." Yon Ryswell excused his good brother.

Heddara smiled. "That is no trouble at all. I gave him leave to do so myself." She said with a nod. "I will consider our next steps and call for you tomorrow."

The two men left, and Heddara turned to the maps on the walls of her solar.

The voyages to Essos had born fruit. Quite literally.

There were quite a few trade opportunities in Bravos, Lorath and the Port of Ibben. Some fruit trees in Ibben could withstand colder climates, and while they would probably never give fruit during a Northern winter, they would do so in the summer, when the climate in the North was still too cold for most species of fruit trees in Westeros.

Wood, Iron and Oil. If the reports on the people of the free cities were accurate, she could get Northern woman to make exotic and fashionable clothes based on furs and have the Bravosi elite fighting for it.

There were so many other things they could do. They could make wooden furniture and decorating pieces. They could start making paper.

And they could make more of the new and improved oil lamps that Master Luwyn had helped to create.

Yes. That was the right approach. She would order for more oil lamps to be made in the next two moons and then she would send Lord Dustin and Benjen to Bravos, Lorath and Port of Ibben for more trade talks. Essos was poor on oil seeps and on plants that produced vegetable oil, so they would have to either use smelly fish oil or buy Northern oil.

And which one those the rich, affected Bravosi would rather have?

Of course, the more expensive, better quality Northern oil.

While her brother was away, she would focus on other issues closer to home. Winter Town needed an overhaul of the old building and sewer system, with more people flocking to it as the capital of the Kingdom. Roads needed paving, now that they had more ideas for it with the new report.

And her people skills at arms needed to be upped. She needed Baratheon to fear to invade them. She would discuss it with Rohar, but maybe some archery contests around the country? Mandatory training might not go over too well when people were busy planting their harvests.

* * *

 **Some people seemed to have forgotten that Heddara used her right of conquest of Kings Landing to temporarily abolish the Kingsguard. Quite a few knights took the chance to get out of those obligations to the monarchy. When the Princess of Winter ended, of those alive, only the fates of Jaime Lannister and Ser Barristan are unknowns. What did they choose to do...? You will have to wait and see!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Big shout out to everyone who reviewed, favorited or followed! Thank you for your support!**

 **Here you have the next chapter! Hope you enjoy it!**

 **Let me know what you think by taking 1 minute to write me a review! :)**

* * *

Chapter 4 – Age 22

IV

Benjen stepped out into the Bravosi sun and let his smile turn feral. Bravosi were definitely good for business. They loved to spend their money on anything that gave them the satisfaction of flaunting their status. And the North Lamp, as it had taken to be called, was now a must have for any high-end ball as no lady would pass without her home being illuminated by dozens of them.

For two years he had traveled around Essos, divulging Northern products. The northern free cities of Bravos, Lorath and the Port of Ibben were still the ones where they did the most profit, but ships sailed from White Harbor all the way down to Pentos, Myr and Lys.

Fur lined clothing to Ibben and Lorath, wooden furniture to Pentos, paper to bravos, iron to Lys and Myr for their warring in the Disputed Lands. North Lamps to all of them.

Not to mention the trade with Dorne. The Dornish loved wood. They used it for spears, furniture, decoration and for their fireplaces. And since they didn't have any – for now, the new trees were still just babies – they bought a lot of it. And in return they gave the north enough sand that now every Keep had at least two or three glasshouses.

It had taken a long time, but in the end, the North's new glassmakers – a bunch of repurposed blacksmiths – could make sheets of glass of good enough quality for their purpose.

Benjen couldn't help but smirk. Life was good

Looking over at the sea, he was glad that he had been able to see all those places. While he still planned to join the Watch eventually, he would have never seen sights such as the Titan of Bravos if he had gone to the Wall right after the war.

He had gone from an assistant to Lord Dustin or Lord Manderly to commanding his own trading fleet, complete with vessels armed for protecting against pirates.

The Northern fleet had grown very rapidly. To a point where White Harbor could no longer support all the boats easily. When he had last left Winterfell Heddara had been in talks with several Lords on both the east and west coast of the Kingdom to start building more ports on the towns surrounding their holdfasts.

Hopefully they would be able to move some vessels east to patrol the waters there and to trade with the Westerlands.

The Ironborn had been quiet since the rebellion, and quiet Ironborn meant plotting Ironborn.

And no one wanted any of those around.

Feeling on top of the world, Benjen Stark whistled down the street accompanied by his guards.

* * *

Aaron Snow was glad to be back in Bravos.

The Company had been serving Lys on another bid for more land in its eternal quarrel with Myr, and while the coin had been good, it was always a hassle to fight amidst the arid and hot lands that separated the two rival cities.

Bravos weather was much more appealing with its fresh and cool breeze.

Maybe it was the blood of his ancestors that called him to it.

Whatever the reason, he enjoyed this city much more than any other, and was glad for the job that had brought the Company here.

A regal looking young man was coming on the opposite way over one of the bridges in the main canal, and Aaron observed him curiously.

He had never seen him before, and he had served many times in Bravos, so he probably wasn't the son of a local Lord. His dark hair contrasted with his pale face and grey eyes, making him stand out amongst the tanned Bravosi. The guards following him gave credit to his station, even though the man himself was dressed in clothes appropriate to fight in, if in better quality.

As they crossed paths, Aaron let his eyes follow the stranger, trying to figure out his purpose in the city and if he might cause problems in his current job in guarding a rich Lords warehouses until his expensive products could be shipped south.

He almost tumbled down the steps of the bridge as his eyes found the sigil proudly stitched to the back of the man's tunic.

* * *

Heddara dismounted her horse, and passed the reins to a page, as she admired the work of her people.

Where ruins had greeted her on her first journey south all those years before, now stood repaired towers and a full wall that almost reached her shoulders. Two more towers were being built and the progress made on them was astounding.

"My Queen! Welcome to Moat Cailin!" Jonah Snow said with a smile. "Consort! Lord Karstark! Welcome!"

Jonah Snow was visibly excited about his most important project. The Moat was a challenge due to its geographical location. It was surrounded by swamps that would swallow up the incautious, with only one way up from the south, and one way out towards the North.

The fortress was built on a hill, completely surrounded by the murky water, and that had made the job of carrying the stones difficult. Thankfully, it had been built to safeguard the North from the South, and so the Northern flank was much easier to reach than the southern one.

"Tell us about the progress that has been made, master Snow." Heddara asked, after they had been sat at one of the tents that were mounted inside the new walls.

"The three old towers have now been completely repaired and are being maned by the soldiers you appointed, your grace." The man said, a proud smile on his face.

Heddara nodded. That itself was exceptional. The three towers alone were already an incredible asset. Many believed they were more than enough to stop any attempt of invasion, but Heddara had no intention of stopping at that.

"As you can see, the wall is now being raised. We are giving the southern flank more attention, but a wall like this must be risen almost all at the same time, in order to be sturdy. The water was a bother at the beginning, we had to push it back and drain the immediate area so we could dig for the old foundations, and that took many moons. After that we worked fast to raise up the walls as to what you can see now."

"I see you are working on more towers." Rohar asked, looking over at a plan laid out on the table two workers had brought in.

Jonah nodded. "Yes. We needed to incorporate the tower walls into the outer wall itself, so we are slowly bringing them up. But the wall is our main focus for now."

Rohar nodded, pointing to two towers, one on the eastern side, and another on the western flank. "As per the plan that was made for the moat, we are trying to, not only bring the Moat to its original design, but also to make it a better fortress. The original design only took into account invaders from the south, and that was centuries ago. Currently, if the invaders were to take a boat during the night and silently make their way around, they could possibly catch the guards on the current towers by surprise. These extra towers are fundamental."

Heddara studied the plan, remembering all the details they had decided on two years before.

"What of the Keep?" She asked.

"For now, we are focusing on the defensive structures, as per the instructions given previously"

Heddara nodded at Jonah's words, showing that her intentions hadn't changed.

"The soldiers are good with staying in tents for now. I meant when the walls and towers are done. Are you having trouble with finding stone enough to build a stone Keep, or will we need to go for another wooden one for now?"

Jonah smiled at that. "Stone will not be a problem. We have reused as much stone as we could from the old towers and walls. Unlike other abandoned Keeps, the moat is isolated enough that no one has been around to steal the stones. Even with the passage of time, we could use most of them after giving them a good cleaning and fixing some edges." He clapped his hands and rubbed them together in excitement. "Since Lord Tallhart started running his quarry up on those stony mountains he has near Tohren's Square, he has been getting some good stone too. We can use some of those for the Keep and the rest of the towers and walls. I already ordered some, so we won't be sitting on our asses, waiting for it later."

Heddara nodded, pleased with the news.

One thing that had started to appear in good number around the North had been quarries. Mostly granite quarries that cut of stone from the ground, that was then shaped into rectangles the size of a big man's hand.

Another brainchild of Jonah Snow, the popularly called 'parallels' were used to pave every road of the Northern Kingdom, protecting the road from the rain, snow and ice that regularly fell, even during the summer, and keeping weeds and bushes from growing over the roads. They were named for the way they were set down – parallel to each other on each side of the road, meeting in a 'V' at the center.

But granite had other uses too. Specially in construction, and that came in handy now for the Moat.

And hopefully it would also come in handy for other construction projects Lord Karstark was to start very soon.

"I would like a full tour of the fortress." Heddara stated. "If everything is following schedule, I will have Mors Umber lead a new garrison to relieve the men currently here."

* * *

The man with the wolf sigil had gone into a manor house in a rich area of Bravos, with wolf banners proudly hanging from a mast nailed above the main door.

And not just any wolf banner. But a grey direwolf on a white background.

A Stark banner.

Over a big manor house in Bravos.

He had asked around. Over the years he had created a good rapport with most of the servants in the manor houses in the neighborhood and so had many contacts to draw on for information.

What he found had been astounding. And while it annoyed him to no end that it had taken almost three years for the information to reach him, it was not exactly surprising. The Company had been in the Disputed Lands for most of that time, and information did not travel fast in the continent of Essos. But they should have heard something in Lys before their departure at least!

"Are you absolutely certain?" His cousin asked, for the fiftieth time, as they observed the Stark embassy from the shadows of a tree at the end of the street.

"Yes Commander. I verified it with four different sources." He said – for the fiftieth time! – letting some of his exasperation show.

Brandon narrowed his eyes. "We will gather more information and discuss possibilities for the future before making any choices. Let's move out."

* * *

"Someone was studying the Manor from across the street, Prince Benjen" Roran, the leader of his royal guard told him as he had his lunch in the garden of the Northern Embassy to Bravos. "It looked like they were sellswords."

Due to the amount of business the North had been conducting in the free cities, Heddara had decided to create a permanent outpost in Essos to help support merchants and to house Northern Nobles on trade business to the other continent. The Iron Bank had promptly invited her to choose Bravos, by offering a Manor house at a pittance for their use.

To Benjen's understanding, it had been a successful move by the greedy Bankers to entice Heddara to use Bravos as her base in Essos, bringing the city more money as more ships used the city as a stocking point. It had worked, since many Essoci merchants now came to Bravos to inspect merchandising before having it shipped to other places. And new warehouses had been built to accommodate the new Northern products.

"They were?" He asked, humming in curiosity. "Make sure all guards are aware of a possible treat but do nothing further. They might have been looking at that new Sealord hopeful's manor. Another contender in the upcoming election might be thinking of eliminating his competition early in the game."

The guard nodded, leaving him to enjoy his meal.

Hopefully his peaceful and successful voyage wouldn't be interrupted by bloodshed.

One could only hope.

* * *

"How go the plans for the new ports, my Queen?" Jonah asked, curious.

Working for the royal court was the best decision he could have ever made. Once his loyalty had been proven, he had risen in the Queen's esteem and was now a very active member of Magnar Karstark entourage, with a salary provided by the Royal Treasury.

Never before had his life been so fulfilling. His work was challenging, and he had the recognition of his Queen, the nobility and the smallfolk, for all the works he had supervised.

Queen Heddara was a good Queen. She cared for the people, be they Noble or smallfolk, and she payed well. The smalfok contracted for the construction works, in the roads and now in the Moat were already singing her praises for helping them earn good and fair coin.

Not that the Starks had ever cheated their subjects of their coin, but never before had there been a King – or Warden for that matter – that had spent so much on workers.

On a council meeting he had attended, to explain the project for the Moat, one of the other Magnars had been worried that they were being too generous on the salary they payed the workers, and that lowering it would also lower the construction costs significantly. The Queen's answer had been swift and pragmatic, and left Jonah's head spinning in its simplicity.

"If they have more coin, they will spend it, and the merchants will make more profit, and in the end, all of us will collect more taxes. The economy of a country is never a straight line, but a circle." She had said. "Some coin will fall out of the circle, but most of it will Keep on spinning around."

Lady Tallhart had nodded appreciatively, and the Magnars had accepted the proposal – not that they could refuse the Queen, they were only there to advise. That's why they were a _council_.

In the end, the Queen had been right. Tax revenues had risen in every holdfast around the North. With the magnificent new and improved roads, goods could travel at a good time between every holdfast in the North, and everyone profited with it.

And no one made more profit than the Manderlys. With the biggest port town in the Kingdom, they made so much money on their port alone as most of the eastern holdfasts put together. And even though they were undoubtedly happy with their new riches, even they admitted that they were at full capacity, and were very close to sending ships away. The only way for them to create more space was to dismantle the shipyard and no one wanted to do that. The number of requests for more ships was never ending, and the Queen had plans to expand the ship making business.

While the Northern fleet had never been as big since the times of Brandon the Shipwright, his Queen would not be happy until that strength was present on both sides of their Kingdom.

It was imperative that the port at Widow's watch – his beloved hometown – was expanded, and that new and good-sized ports were built in other towns along the coast.

"Yes. The plans have been finalized. Ramsgate and Widow's Watch will have new ports. We have deep waters in both cases." The Queen answered with a nod. "Considering the obvious benefits of the port itself in future coin, the Lords will be tasked with contributing with the financing of the construction, while the crown will support it by exempting them from taxes for the next five years and giving out a loan to be payed in the next fifteen years."

Jonah nodded. That was a good compromise. Ports were expensive to build, but the two towns had already been seeing an influx of coin through their currently very small and cramped ports. With an exemption from taxes and the loan, they could easily pay for the coin. It couldn't be expected that the crown would support all these construction projects, when the towns and the Lords would also be reaping the benefits.

"What about the projects on the west, my Queen. Will they be going forward?"

A few moons before he had been tasked with traveling to certain Keeps to the west in order to give a report on how to best fortify them against possible attacks, and on which ones had the necessary characteristics for building a deep-water port.

On the construction of a port the answer was easy. Almost all of them could receive one. Even Deepwood Mote, could have one, although the port would need to be built on a very specific location, and a few meters from the coast still.

The Northern coast was made of deep waters, and all the fishermen knew that one couldn't walk more than a few feet in the water before the ground disappeared from underneath them. It was what made Ironborn so troublesome. They could bring their longboats almost all the way to shore.

"Yes. We will fortify Deepwood Mote and Flint's Finger first, before we build ports there. Those will be the two bases for our naval force in the east." His Queen frowned. "The Ironborn have been too silent for my liking. I trust them not."

He nodded understanding the danger the pirate-oriented islanders presented to their people.

"And what other future plans should I take into account, my Queen?" He asked in good humor, wandering what other fantastical projects he would be given.

In his eyes, nothing would beat rebuilding a thousand-year-old mythical fortress.

"We will probably need to build a port in Skane. Those Skagosi have been ignoring my messages, and I don't like it. "The Queen frowned, and the Prince consort turned serious. "While they have always been given their autonomy, Skagos is part of the North. Ignoring their sovereign is treason and will eventually need to be addressed."

Well, maybe building a port in an island full of possible cannibals might be a more demanding job than the Moat.

It just might.

* * *

"My Prince" Jorron Cerwyn called, from the door to his office at the manor in Bravos. "There is a man requesting an audience with you at your convenience."

Jorron was Heddara's appointed secretary in Bravos. He technically belonged to the Order of trade and would fall under Lord Dustin's purview, but he had been specifically appointed by his sister for this position, as she saw the responsibility it carried. He was tasked with helping any northern merchant that sought his help – within reason, of course – with maintaining the Northern presence and good relations with Bravos, and specially the Sealord and the Iron Bank.

Heddara had never even considered to ask for a loan with the sharks of the Iron Bank, but that didn't mean that one should dismiss their obvious power over the city.

"Who is he?" He asked the man.

"He says he is the commander of the Company of the Rose."

Benjen froze, before bringing down his hand and dropping the quill on the desk.

"The Company of the Rose?" He asked, looking for clarification. Blinking as he came out of his stupor, he tried to consider the possible implications of this visit. "Give me ten minutes and then send him in. Tell Roran to come in also."

As Roran stepped into the room from his position outside the door, Benjen tried to give his desk a semblance of order as he attempted to make sense of his thoughts.

According to Old Nan's stories, when the King who knelt had… well, knelt, some northerners had not been happy, having preferred to die fighting for freedom instead. Those discontented men and woman decided then that they wouldn't bow down to the invaders and made their way across the sea and founded their own sellsword Company, using a rose as a symbol in a mockery of their old Kings.

As all of old Nan's stories, the tale ended dramatically with the old woman stating that those children of the North still waited for a time when their Kingdom was restored, and they could once again proudly call themselves Northern people.

For Benjen, like all other stories, this one had been just that – a story. An interesting one, with probably a big silver of truth, but in the end simply a story.

In his mind, even if almost three hundred years before, men and woman from the North had exiled themselves in Essos and formed a sellsword Company, there was no way they would be 'waiting' for anything. Too many generations had passed and there was no reason for them to want to come back to Westeros.

Right?

"Prince Benjen" Jorron called once more, preparing to announce his visitor. His face was contorted in a way that showed his discomfort and surprise. "Brandon Snow, Commander of the Company of the Rose."

Benjen had no qualms in letting his incredulity show on his face by raising both eyebrows. The man might as well know his skepticism in the truthfulness of his name.

"Welcome Brandon Snow." He said, gesturing for the man to take a seat, as Jorron left the room and Roran leaned against the wall in false relaxation.

The commander of the Company of the Rose was the picture of the perfect warrior. Dark haired, clear eyed and filled with muscle, his long face betrayed a possible relation to several Northern houses.

Now whether the man was born in Westeros before making his way to Essos or was a descendent of a long line of Northerners in exile, was another question.

He waited patiently for the man to speak, observing him as he took in his surroundings.

"You know, when one of my men told me that there was a Stark in Bravos I didn't believe him. When he told me there was a Stark embassy in the city and that the Kings of Winter ruled once more, I pondered the possibility of the disputed Lands sun having addled his brains."

Benjen huffed, in amusement. If they had been in the Disputed Lands for the past few years that might explain why they hadn't heard the news sooner.

"And what is your verdict now?" He asked, giving the other man a smirk.

"Apparently all it took was a female Stark to finally get the North to what it was supposed to have always been. Your Queen has more balls then all your ancestors put together."

Benjen's smirk widened. "I have no doubt."

The man huffed at his candor, crossing his arms.

"Why don't you tell me what you want to do now that you have undoubtedly done your own information gathering and are on par with what has happened in Westeros in the last few years?"

The man narrowed his eyes, considering Benjen's words.

"Our ancestors plans always included returning to Westeros if the situation there changed. But too many generations have passed. All the Company knows is war. Even if not all of us are warriors, all our skills involve the art of war in one way or another." His serious face turned even harder. "Even though most of us would like to finally end our exile and have a permanent home, we have no intention of spending the rest of our lives farming away some Lordlings land. Specially, when some of us might even have more right to the land itself than that Lord."

Benjen rubbed his chin with his hand, considering the man's words.

The Company of the Rose was a midsized sellswords Company with a good reputation. Its warriors consisted of both men and woman and they were known for their efficiency and cunningness in battle. Giving them work anywhere but the army would be a waste, and both Heddara and Rohar hated wastefulness.

On the other hand, they were unknown, and giving them access to the army could be a dangerous move – and probably why Snow was worried he would be dumped on a farm if he tried to return to the home of his ancestors.

"Tell me more about the Company of the Rose." Benjen said, leaning back on his chair. "I want to know the real story of how you came to be, and all your current numbers of active and non-active members, and all skills possessed by your people."

* * *

"Mamma, look! We kill Dragon!" Rodrik said, as he and Jon stood victoriously over a very 'dead' dragon Rohar.

"Um. Are you sure?" She asked, playful. "Did you check, he might just be injured, and injured dragons can be very dangerous"

Following his cue, Rohar let out a roar and brought up his arms to coil around each child, bringing them down on the rug and tickling them mercilessly.

The boys shrieked in laugher, trying to wrestle their way out.

"Mamma! Help!" Jon cried between his laughs, making her chuckle.

"Tickling war! Men, attack the dragon!" She mock ordered, joining the fray in trying to tickle her husband.

She was glad that she could give Jon a good childhood. Having him see her and Rohar as his parents was something she had always cultivated, while at the same time making sure that he knew that they were not truly so. She realized that he didn't yet understand the situation fully, but for now he knew that a mother and a father were someone that raised and loved a child, and so they were his mamma and papa, but since he hadn't been born of their blood, he couldn't be the next King like Rodrick was.

It was good enough, for now.

Once the Moat was finished, and the eastern shore secured, she would make him an official Stark and declare him her sister's son, confirming the suspicions of most of her bannerman, and securing his position and his future by giving him the title of Prince.

Minutes later, when they were all laying on the rug after their tickle war ended in the surrender of the great dragon, Heddara turned to her boys and asked.

"How would the two of you like to become big brothers?"

She chuckled once again at the two reactions, as Rohar put his arms around her and pressed his smile to her neck.

* * *

 **The Company of the Rose is here! What do you think? Should Heddara allow them back into the North?**

 **What other measures can she take to help fortify her kingdom against the South, in case of an attack by Baratheon or Ironborn?**


	5. Chapter 5

**Big thank you to all of those who reviewed, favorited or followed! Thank you for your support!**

* * *

Chapter 5 – Age 23

V

"She is beautiful Dara." Rohar said, smiling over at his first daughter. "Isn't she boys?"

His sons looked skeptical, looking down at their still slightly pink faced sister. Both he and Heddara couldn't help but chuckle at their reactions.

"What name should we give her?" She asked.

The boys looked uncertain. "Maybe Serena?" Rodrick proposed.

Jon frowned at that "But there are so many Serena's. Maester Luwin said so!"

Rodrick pouted. "But it's pretty!"

Jon shook his head. "Our sister is not just pretty. She is strong, like mamma!"

Rodrick's frown deepened. "How is she strong like mamma if she is just a baby? Babies can't do anything!"

The brothers went back and forth under their parents amused eyes until finally they settled.

"Welcome home, princess Sansa!"

* * *

Three moons after his niece was born, Benjen was rowing a small boat to a place he had never thought he would see in his life.

The Company of the Rose's wish to go back to what they still saw as 'home', had left Heddara with three options: say no; say yes with open arms, hugs and kisses; or say yes but first demand a proof of loyalty.

His sister had never been one for hugs and kisses with strangers, so her choice had been obvious.

And the task she had chosen for the Company to prove their loyalty was what had gotten him where he was now.

Well, it was not like he had been forced to come, in fact, he had volunteered. He had thought that it would be good training for when he enlisted in the Watch in a few of moons.

But still, it was a bit surreal to finally set foot in the place, he pondered, as he helped bring the rowboat to shore. Even though the Company had been left alone to do most of the job by themselves, as per Hed's directives, he was still supposed to supervise and take note of all the decisions made by them. And hopefully let of a bit of steam by helping kill some Skaggs.

Every northern child's stories were plagued by three bogeymen: The Others, the Wildlings and the Skagosi.

And while the Skagosi were mostly considered the minor ones, they were still scary for three simple facts: almost no one had ever actually seen one, some people said they were cannibals or unicorns, and they undoubtedly existed.

And he was now following a former sellsword Company into the heart of their main island.

* * *

The reason why Heddara had sent the Company to Skagos was simple – they were ignoring her missives.

Skagosi were known for not caring much for northern politics and had notoriously been absent from several battlefields in recent years. The most recent? The rebellion itself.

Many Wardens and Kings had been content to ignore Skagos existence in return and leave them to their own devices.

But not Heddara.

Skagos was part of the North, conquered from pirates by the Starks centuries before, and therefore had to answer to the Starks of Winterfell. Heddara was not about to let herself be lulled into a sense of false security, only to have another Skagosi rebellion on her hands, like it had happened about a century before.

All the members of the Council had been in agreement, though Benjen suspected that for Lady Tallhart only two things mattered: if they were rich, they should be paying taxes, if they were poor, they should be receiving help from the crown until they were in a good financial situation and could pay taxes.

And that was how he got himself a personal opportunity to find out what was true and what was myth.

Unicorns? True. One of the gigantic goat like bastards had almost gored a couple of Company men, before it had been promptly speared by more attentive warriors. The two distracted men had promptly been told off by their officers, before the group had continued, word passing down the ranks about the threat the animals might possess.

It had been a bit disheartening to see that unicorns were so ugly, but that had quickly been pushed back in his mind when he, and everyone else, had come face to face with another possible threat.

The unicorns had been a prelude to the people of the Stane Clan, that had hissed threats at them being on their land, but ultimately had been unable to do anything against them due to their sheer numbers and weapons.

Oh, they had tried. They had obviously seen their ships coming, and prepared several ambushes for them, but the Rose Company was not one of the oldest companies in Essos for nothing. There was a reason they had taken so long to mount this offensive after all. They had spent moons preparing and gathering information, even going all the way to Eastwatch by-the-Sea to talk to the brothers of the Night's Watch stationed there.

The Skagosi had launched volley after volley of arrows – most likely poisoned – but the Company had held firm due to their armors and shields – and antidotes, most likely.

In the end, they had managed to turn around and defeat them, though they had made sure to keep most of them alive.

The leader of the Stane Clan had tried to protest and claim they were invading his lands, but the truth of the matter was simple and not in his favor. They had attacked Stark men, that had come out of ships flying the Stark banner. He had raised arms against his Queen.

Afterwards things had progressed easily – if one considered putting down several Skagosi easy.

It would have been too easy, if one discounted the fact that the Skagosi had almost been annihilated after their rebellion one century before. The Starks had payed the price too, with the death of Lord Stark and many of his men, but one century had not been enough to bring the islanders numbers anywhere close to what they had been.

Two days later Brandon Snow had the three leaders of the Skagosi in front of him at the square in front of the seat of Clan Crowl, Deepdown, with Benjen looking on in the midst of the other Company men.

"You ignore messages from your Queen, then you attack her emissary, making it impossible for him to even get out of his boat." The commander said, a sneer on his face. "Is it such a surprise that she would send an armed force to enforce her will?"

The Magnar Clan leader spit out. "We have no pansy Queen."

Brandon wasted no time in backhanding him with such force the gigantic man almost fell over.

"And that is treason." He spit back at the man's feet. "Your ancestors were appointed as protectors of this land by the Starks. Instead of doing your duty you quarreled, killed your neighbors and enslaved woman. Then you decide to raise in rebellion causing the deaths of hundreds. If it was me, I would have killed you off and given this land to better deserving people. But the Starks gave you another chance. And yet this is how you repay them."

The Stane leader laughed. "You say all that and yet you follow some cunt Stark. How much of a man are you if you let some woman order you around?"

It was Brandon's turn to kick back his head and let out a bark of laughter.

"You have stayed so closed up in this Island that you have forgotten what true warriors are like, haven't you? Never seen a Mormont slam her hammer on an Ironborn raider, have you? Or Heda commanding a host against a Targaryen army." He chuckled. "And you have no idea of the true warriors of the North because you have never been amongst them in batle."

Turning to the Company warriors surrounding them, he called "Malika!"

A woman stepped forth, a bloodthirsty grin gracing her features. "If any of you would like a go at a true northern warrior, why don't you let Malika here give you a demonstration?"

What followed was a beautiful plummeting of the Stane Clan Leader by the Company's strongest woman, shutting up any jeers from the Skagosi present.

"You will bow to the Queen's emissaries and follow her laws. You will accept the presence of any men appointed by the Queen to access the state of affairs in Skagos and pay the taxes deemed appropriate. In return, the Queen will invest in Skagos in the form of seeds, glasshouses and any other products you believe you have a need of. The Queen will also take control of the abandoned island of Skane and build a military and merchant port there. In return, this port will be opened to trade with Skagos at a token tax"

The Magnar narrowed his eyes. He was thinking now. Good. Being part of the North could actually give the Skagosi better living conditions. Benjen had not been impressed with the seats of the three clans.

A strange screech was heard all around, as the trees shook in a sudden wind. The Skagosi turned pale and shifted, looking around in a panic.

Magnar's mouth opened into a slow smile. "We will bow and swear, if you give us a better show of your so-called warrior powers."

Brandon frowned. "We have already done so."

Magnar laughed as the screeches continued. "Not enough. You kill The Cannibal, we follow your Queen." He looked up at the agitated trees and frowned. "Scatter!" He screamed.

The order was apparently familiar to the Skagosi, for they all moved away to hide. Benjen noticed that they all chose houses made of solid rock and with no windows, that seemed to dot the village, as their hiding places.

Brandon seemed to notice too, for he soon let out his own orders. "Do as they did! Don't trust them! Only Rock! Give me a bow! Now!"

Benjen hurried to find a less used hideout and quickly went inside with Brandon and what seemed half of the Company. The screeches seemed to be coming closer, and the wind was picking up.

"What is happening?" he asked, hurrying over to the thin slit that passed as a window.

"It seems like some sort of flying beast." Brando said, stopping by the other side of the window. "And Magnar wants us to kill it"

One of the Skagosi in what he now assumed was a purposeful shelter, considering its lack of furniture, snorted. "No one can kill The Cannibal."

Benjen narrowed his eyes, considering the words of both this man and his clan leader. The screeches were almost upon them, and he wanted answers. "What is The Cannibal, and how long has he been around?"

The Skagosi. "The Cannibal has been around for a very long time. Longer than us. He comes and goes around the islands of Skagos."

Brandon swore, and a mighty screech came out, prompting Benjen to look outside.

He understood were the rumors of cannibalism came from now. The Skagosi themselves didn't eat men.

Something else that lived on Skagos did.

* * *

"Considering there are no signs of summer ending anytime soon, the works in Moat Cailin will be continuing in full force" Lord Karstark explained. "The works to Deepwood Mote and Flint's Finger are going well. The wall's reinforcements have gone to plan as well, and I believe that the Prince Consort has already sent back the men he has been training these last few moons."

Rohar nodded. "That is correct. The new walls will prove a challenge to the Flints. We sent one hundred Stark men to man the walls and train Flint men until they are up to the task. Lord Glover will have no such problem."

Heddara nodded at the news, before giving the next member of the council leave to speak.

"The works for the pier in Widow's Watch go as expected. Ramsgate, however, seems to be a problem." Karstark frowned. "I sent a man to check on the progress and the work was stalled. I know not what the Lord of Ramsgate is doing with the money he has been keeping from his taxes for almost a whole year!"

Heddara's eyes narrowed.

"You believe he is using it on other things?" She combed her memory for information her scurry little friends had shared lately. "There have been more orders for luxury items from Myr for Ramsgate, haven't there Lord Dustin? It stroke me as odd, but I figured the influx of money to the workers might have spiked an interest in those smelling soaps of theirs."

Lady Tallhart joined Lord Dustin in consulting her books before raising her voice to the discussion. "It is the most likely reason. It's not just smelling soaps they're ordering if these numbers look right"

Lord Dustin frowned. "Lady Tallhart speaks truth. Seems they are buying silks and hair decorating pieces also." The Magnar of trade said, sneering.

Heddara sighed. Any other time, she would be preparing her horse to ride to Ramsgate to figure out what was happening, but unfortunately, she had still not recovered completely from Sansa's birth, and showing any weakness in front of a money swindling – possibly turning hostile – bannerman was not wise.

"Lord Umber will make his way to Ramsgate as soon as this council is adjourned. The Consort will accompany him with a force of one hundred men." She ordered. "I want to get to the bottom of the issue. If the Lord of Ramsgate proves unfit for his responsibilities, Lordship of Ramsgate will pass to the next in line. If that one proves unfit also, you will go down the line until you find one that will be fit to it."

Lord Umber nodded with a smirk, easily mirrored by the rest of the council. No one liked to be stolen from, and considering Ramsgate had been given exemption from taxes, and a big loan from the crown, every Lord in the North expected its Lord to put the money to good use. Not to buy frivolities. "And if none of the man's sons have a lick of sense between their ears?"

Heddara snorted. "Then you will look at his daughters, nephews and nieces. And if the Old Gods have seen fit to forsake the whole bloodline, you will appoint a steward and leave a guard contingent to oversee the investment of the crown."

The two men nodded, and assured of their understanding, Heddara turned to Roose Bolton.

"Lord Bolton, what of the state of the Kingdom when it comes to facing Winter? While there is no sign that Summer will be ending any time soon, there have been almost four years of it now, and we all know how short Autumns can be."

Roose nodded. "The number of glasshouses available have risen in every Keep, as per the plan supervised by Lord Karstark and myself. Most of them were built with coin from the crown and several repayment methods have been agreed to with those Keeps Lords." He looked down at his books before adding. "Several barns and woodsheds had to be rebuilt due to their degraded state. Storing wood in a rotten wooden shed is not always safe, even for the North. It is just asking for a disaster. So is storing grain in the Keeps cellar is just a present for the rats."

He frowned at his papers. "Some villages in the Rhills are refusing the new woodsheds and Barns because of some belief that their taxes will be raised to incredible and unbearable amounts. We are still trying to explain to them how this is actually done."

Heddara nodded. "Hopefully, once they hear of the conditions their neighbors have been offered, they will approach your men for their own new buildings, and it will be easier to explain to them then. Please keep me updated on the developments."

Looking over at the list of subjects she wanted to broach during the meeting, she turned to her master.

"What news have we of the men sent to the citadel?" She asked

The Maester bowed to her, before giving a please smile. "Two more have forged their healing and herblore links and have decided to head back North by boat. That makes a total of six men now, my Queen."

"Good" Heddara said, with a pleased smile. "And what of Shipbuilding, Engineering and Arquitecture?"

Karstark puffed with pride. "My nephew has forged a chain in Engineering and Arquitecture my Queen!" he announced proudly.

Karstark had been one of the many Lords to follow her advice on sending the 'lesser', and less gifted at arms, members of their households to the Citadel. And his nephew was now the third high born man to have been able to forge a chain in a very useful discipline.

"My congratulations, Lord Karstark!" She gave with a smile. "I have no doubt he will be joining your Order very soon."

She turned to the council at large, bringing her hands up to lean her chin on. "We are finally in a place where we can move forward in our quest to advance our country. First order of business is Winter Town." She turned to Jonah Snow, sitting beside his Magnar and nodded. "The town outside these walls has its name from the fact that it mostly sits vacant during the summer, as smallfolk move to their farms where harvest awaits. However, Winterfell is now the seat of a Queen and its council. More and more people come to this town looking for the jobs that naturally appear due to the presence of a court, that has been gone for so many years. We are seeing dirty streets, dangerous and poor houses and dare I say it, even the beginnings of a dump." She sneered at the mere mention of it.

"I will not stand for such conditions in what is in all truth the capital of this Kingdom. So, master Snow, I task you with creating a plan for reorganizing this Town, that is for all intents and purposes, on its way to becoming a city." The man nodded, a gleam in his eyes at the challenge. "The most important aspects to take into consideration is firstly, the need for several cheap, but sturdy houses. Winterfell has always been a safe haven during winter. Even to the poorest of the smallfolk. Second, the smell. There will be no Kings Landing in the North."

The Lords present shouted in agreement, all of them remembering the stink of the southern city, strong enough that not even the small fires started by the Lannister could smother it.

"And third, I want two large buildings created: one where teaching will occur, and another where healing will be available to the inhabitants of the city. Maester Luwyn, as the Magnar of Healing will be the one that will tell you everything you will need to know about these two buildings, as they will fall under his wing."

Murmurs of agreement went around the room, as the purpose of the Order of Healing was finally taking shape.

Keeps needed their Maesters, so for the Order of healing to launch, more healers where needed. That was why Maester Luwin had sent ravens to every Keep, asking their Maesters to recommend men they believed had the necessary temperament for it.

After interviewing each man, Heddara had decided to sponsor seven of them and now, with six of them ready, it was time to spread the knowledge, and put it into practice. Soon, they would not need to send more men to the Citadel.

After all, there were woman interested in the subject and the Citadel was no more than a castle full of misogynistic fossils.

"Lord Cerwin. It is also finally time to fully launch the Order of Guilds. With the expansion of trade, many more skills have been learnt by our people, and many more are still in need. I know you have been preparing these last few years and have already started your work, just as we have discussed. What have you prepared for me?"

* * *

 **For the first time in around 111 thousand words written in this site, I finally feel like I managed a half- decent cliff-hanger! Yay!**

 **So Heddara decides to welcome the company, but first they must prove themselves!**

 **Now what is The Cannibal? I can tell you I got this one from a mix of the books and some fan speculation and decided to add my own twist to it!**

 **Lots of people are asking about white walkers. I'm planning to make this a trilogy, and they will definitely not be in this story, because it will only go up until a bit before cannon begins, but if you read the Epilogue of 'The Princess of Winter', I'm pretty sure you can guess what will happen in the third book. :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you to everyone who supported this fic by reviewing, favoriting or following!**

 **Don't Forget to tell me what you think! - This chapter is very small, but I promise the next one will be out soon :)**

* * *

Chapter Six – Age 23

VI

Almost three centuries to that day, his ancestor's homeland had been threatened by Invaders. And while many times before that had happened, and always his people had been victorious, that invasion had been different.

Different because the Invaders had brought beasts with them capable of burning a man alive or plucking him from his mount and into the sky by its talons, only to be devoured in seconds.

His ancestor and his people had known those beasts. Or at least they had known _of_ them. His ancestor ancestors had hunted them down to the last individual millennia before, fighting bravely to put down the threat to men and livestock.

And when the Invaders came, riding their great winged beats, they had planned to do the same. They had scoured down the books and the legends in every Keep, even traveling all the way beyond the great wall, were there were said to still live the ancient children of the forest, until they found how the heroes of old had slain the beasts.

They had been prepared. His ancestor had personally carved his three weapons, one for each of the creatures, and had been ready to give his life for the freedom of his people.

Only to be ordered to leave them behind and negotiate a surrender instead.

The stories said that he had been furious. Oh, he had contained his fury enough to negotiate good and fair terms for his brother and King, but in the end, he had never understood why the plan had changed, and his brother refusal to explain himself had led him to believe that Torrhen Stark had been too craven to risk his life and that of his subjects in battle.

In the end, disappointed and disgusted, Brandon Snow had left his country with many likeminded men and women, to never return.

Only he had not left empty handed. He had taken with him his painstakingly crafted weapons. One for each of the three Targaryen dragons.

And those weapons had been passed on in the Company of the Rose, from Commander to Commander, until after almost three hundred years they had reached once again, a direct descendent of Brandon Snow.

As he looked outside the slit like window, he couldn't help but think of the irony of his situation. One Brandon Snow had started it all, and now, another would either finish it, or die trying, just like his ancestor had wished to do.

"How the fuck are we supposed to kill a freaking Dragon?" The young Prince cursed beside him, his eyes wide. "One that apparently enjoys eating people!"

Brandon took a deep breath, testing the tension off the bow one of his brothers in arms had handed him, Keeping an eye on the creature outside. The Cannibal was poking his head this way and that, puffing and shrieking. His head and eyes looked all around, trying to find a prey. As his eyes turned their way, the people by the windows collectively held their breath.

Taking a step, the creature moved over ground away from them, and he could see the Prince's shoulders dropping in relief, before he sucked in a breath.

"The wing" He murmured, prompting Brandon to focus on the appendage and note that the left wing was damaged. Which would explain why it had stayed around the Islands of Skagos for so long. While Westeros shores where close, they were not close enough for such a damaged wing.

A plan started to form in his mind, as he unbuckled his armor to reach into the inner pocket of his tunic.

Taking out the cloth covered arrows, he unwrapped them and laid two of them on the ground within easy reach as he notched the other one.

Brandon Snow, brother of Tohrren would have had only one shot per dragon, but thankfully, Brandon Snow, son of Brenda, would have three tries to kill the beast.

"When I tell you to, I need you to shout suddenly!" He murmured to the Prince, as he positioned himself at the window.

It was very much like an arrow slit in a castle wall. A crude slightly leaning, and a bit larger arrow slit. Although clearly not made for war, it would serve it purpose.

"Are you out of your mind? You do know what Dragon fire can do to even stone buildings right? And this one is not exactly a master piece in engineering." The Prince asked in a whisper, looking wide eyes at him.

Brandon shook his head. "Trust me, I know perfectly well what I'm doing."

Benjen Stark narrowed his eyes, studying him intently. "Very well. But you better know that if you fail, most of the people in here will be offering you up to be eaten, and I'm not sure I would stop them"

Brandon nodded, lining up his bow and carefully studying the beast. He needed it in the perfect position.

During the Rose Company's exile, it's commanders had taken careful notes on every known dragon slaying in history.

Apart from those in antiquity, there had only been three proved instances. One during the Targaryen's Conquest by the hands of the Dornish, and two during the Dance of Dragons. Both the Dornish and the Burning Knight had made their kills by piercing the eye and the brain, while Hobb the Hewer had used simple blunt force trauma to the Dragons head.

And while his arrows were not scorpion bolts in a Dornishmen's castle, or a sword in a suicidal knight's hand, they were not typical arrows either.

If he managed to pierce the dragon's skin, the arrow would still do its job. Only problem was, dragon scales were damn good at their job. So, the eye it was.

If it was any other creature, hitting the eye would be an extremely difficult venture, only accessible to the most gifted archers. Brandon himself was a good archer – every commander of the Company had always been proficient in several weapons, and considering the threat of the Dothraki, the bow was a good weapon to master – and he believed himself capable of hitting the eye of his prey, if he so wished.

Thankfully, a dragon wasn't any other creature either. It was fucking enormous.

And therefore, had a matching freakishly enormous eye.

So, all he needed was for that eye to be turned his way.

Taking a deep breath, he said "Now."

The young Prince let out a trill, imitating a bird. Which was probably smart. Letting out a roar would make the beast respond immediately with fire.

The effect was immediate.

The Cannibal turned its head and the arrow flew.

Not bothering to check whether or not the arrow had hit its target, Brandon notched another one and let it fly.

The second arrow flew over the screaming, writhing dragon on the floor.

* * *

"You killed a Dragon?" Heddara asked, dumbfounded, looking at the head being presented to her.

Brandon Snow smirked in pride and satisfaction. "Yes, my Queen."

Heddara contained a sighed.

"And how did you come by the dragon?" She asked, her eyebrows raised.

Benjen frowned. "It apparently had been living around Skagos for almost one hundred years. And the Skagosi, after their failed rebellion, never bothered to report it. Too proud to ask for help, maybe."

Heddara hummed, considering the possibilities. "The last Dragon died more than one hundred and thirty years ago though..."

Brandon nodded. "If the name is anything to go by, it was one of the three wild dragons of Dragonstone. It survived the Dance of Dragons, but disappeared after the war. No one knows what happened to it, but I would guess that it got injured and went half-mad, wondering up North beyond the Wall for a couple of decades until it reached Skagos."

Heddara's eyes narrowed. "Wouldn't people in Westeros have seen it though, if it ended up in Skagos?"

"Not necessarily." Brandon said, shaking his head. "The Dance was a terrible war. Many people died and the trials after were pretty bloody too. The Dragon we found was injured and that hindered its flying, but he could still do it. If he stayed by the coast he could have easily lived off of fish, which Dragons enjoy very much."

"I see you are an expert on Dragons" Heddara said, impressed.

"Every Commander is though how to kill a dragon. And to know what one needs to know of its habits."

Heddara raise her eyebrow. "And how did you kill it? This is no normal arrow." She said, pointing to the weapon, still stuck to the creature's eye.

Brandon smirked taking out a wrapped parcel, which he opened to reveal two more arrows. "My ancestor carved three weapons for three enemies. Now only two remain, for one has met its purpose."

Heddara sighed, giving up on the issue for the moment. "I have no patience right now for this twisted talk. What of the Skagosi?"

Benjen let out a laugh. "They basically venerate Brandon here, and you as his emissary. They will welcome the port in Skane and will be glad to raise their arms in your name. I think any other emissaries to the islands will have no more problems. They will be productive, tax paying members of the North in no time."

Heddara sighed, rubbing her head at the incoming ache. Young children never let their parents sleep well.

"What happened in Ramsgate?" Benjen asked. "We heard in White Harbor that Rohar had to go there for some reason."

Heddara groaned. "Almost the whole family was deviating money for their own purpose. The Lord deviated some for his feasts, his wife deviated some of the rest to buy smelling soaps, the daughters deviated some of what was left of that to buy silks and more smelling soaps and the only son deviated some of what was left to buy a couple of war horses. In the end, they all met the Queen's justice and the title was passed to the former Lord's cousin, who was the one trying to use the coin that was left to actually build some sort of port. Although obviously unsuccessfully."

Benjen snorted. "I guess you have two more men for the watch then, uh?" he wandered. "What happened to the woman though?"

Heddara rolled her eyes. "They only got the wall because they tried to lie, and when that failed, tried to raise arms against Lord Umber. He stripped them of their titles and made them pay back the crown the money they had used, and then sent them to the wall after they had so chosen. Since he firmly believes that women aren't any stupider than men, he judged them in full knowledge of what they were doing, and gave them the same punishment as the men, minus the wall."

Benjen hummed in understanding. "Guess that cousin now has his hands full."

Heddara laughed. "From what I hear, he has them sewing day and night, to atone for the blemish they brought their house and to help pay off the debt they now own the Starks, for trying to cheat them in their generosity"


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorited and followed!**

 **Since the last chapter was so small, I decided to give you another one sooner! let me know what you think!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter Seven – Age 26/27

VII

 _'Dear Family,_

 _I hope you are all well. Is Bran finally sleeping through the night? I hope so. All my cute nephews and nieces need their beauty sleep._

 _The wall is amazing. It is so tall, that if you stand on the foot of it, you can't even see the top. On a bright day the ice and the sky can get confused with each other, and it seems to go on forever._

 _It is quite cold, but since it is still summer, it is still quite comfortable. You squirts should be happy you have never seen winter before!_

 _Anyway, things are interesting right now, although a bit boring, I must admit. I will write again when I have more news._

 _Keep up with your training!_

 _Lots of hugs,_

 _Uncle Ben'_

* * *

 _'Hed,_

 _The watch is weird. Too few people for such a long stretch of ice has left its marks after all these years._

 _Too little people volunteer anymore. There are so many thieves, rappers and murderers that sometimes I feel like I have to watch my back. Not to mention the loyalists. The stares they send me are terribly annoying._

 _Honestly, I am feeling doubts about doing my vows at all. It would take me years to become a ranger, and I feel myself becoming restless just in the few days I have been here. Essos offered more adventure then the wall, and that is not saying much, considering I spent my time in meetings with pompous men._

 _I've been considering just going out on my own to discover the land beyond the wall. There is no law against it after all._

 _Don't worry though. I will think it through and not make any rash decisions. And yes, I will take some men._

 _On another note, Lord Commander Jeor Mormont – who by the way sends you greetings and well wishes for the children – came to me with many thanks for sending some Company men to Bear Island and for having created the base in Skane. The Watch has been doing a lot of trading with the Company of the Rose stationed there trough East Watch by-the-Sea. I told you making Aaron Snow captain of that contingent was a good idea. It leaves you with Brandon free to do anything you wish, and allows you to Keep the Skagosi happy, since they see familiar faces all the time, even if you rotate the Company members stationed in the base._

 _On another note, your foster brother Jeor Mormont sent a raven to the wall with news of wildlings trying to pick at their shores. It is good to see that even though the presence of our fleet is still not very strong, it is enough to scare them off in conjunction with the Company._

 _I send you my best regards, sister. Know that you might see me sooner than you think._

 _With love,_

 _Ben._

* * *

"Oohhh, uncle Ben is so cool!" Arya squealed. "Is he going beyond the Wall? Does he say?"

Sansa huffed, looking over her brother's shoulders. "No, Arya, He just says the thing is very tall."

"The wall is not _just_ tall." Rodrick said, frowning. "It's amazingly tall, and it stretches until forever!"

The girls quickly got into an argument with their brother on the impossibility of any wall stretching on until the sky, while John turned to her.

"What does uncle Ben say in your letter, Mother?" Jon asked her, with and excited smile.

It had been a bittersweet day, when Jon and Rodrick in all their six-year-old glory, had pronounced themselves too old for words like 'mamma' and 'papa' and instead decided that Heddara and Rohar were now 'Mother' and 'Father'. They were growing fast, tough Heddara tried to look on the positive side of things: Jon still considered them parents, even though he now understood the seriousness of his situation.

He had recently been told about who his true parents were. While Rohar had been nervous about his age, Heddara had decided to follow the promise she had silently made the child when he had been but a babe. She would tell him, if not others, as soon as she was assured of his safety.

With the Moat now at full military capacity – even though the inner Keep was still under construction – and the ports in the east and west mostly completed, Heddara had ordered one fourth of her fleet west to join the few boats already being built in Deepwood Moat.

As soon as she had received word of the safe arrival of her ships, Heddara had taken her oldest son and her nephew on a walk in the godswoods and deployed several guards to make sure they weren't overheard.

"Uncle Ben is a bit bored at the wall, after all the excitement of Essos." She told him with a smile.

Six years had been more than enough for her army of small animals – rats, mice, squirrels, rabbits, cats and all kinds of otherwise innocuous and fluffy creatures – to sniff out most of the spies in her court.

It had taken a few months, and her confinement with her oldest son giving her enough time to practice – carefully, to not expend too much energy, of course – but she had managed to hone her waring skills to their maximum potential.

For the bonded animals closest to her, she no longer needed to be completely connected to them in order to hear and see what they did.

It had started with figuring out how to voluntarily access the subconscious warging she had done with Storm at the Battle of the Bells. Once she had understood and mastered that skill, she had then figured out how to do the same, but on a... loser level. She had no wish to have hundreds of animals constantly whispering on the back of her head.

What she wanted was to Keep a very loose and thin connection with them, so that if they heard or saw certain words, they could 'call' her to them. Difficult, but possible.

Every animal she touched with her mind, she could find anywhere they were in Westeros. The closest they were the easiest it was to command them, but she could always _feel_ them. What she had needed was for the animals to reach back on their own. Hard to do when she wasn't bonded to them on the same level she was with Storm or Haros.

In the end, she had opted for quality over quantity, at least in the beginning. She had taken the time to bond with several birds and squirrels she had called to her over several days and trained them to react to certain keywords.

With those small friends spying for her in the godswoods and the forest surrounding Winterfell and Wintertown, she had turned to more domesticated animals to Keep an eye – and ear – on her Keep.

Rats had been promptly abandoned in favor of cats. The animals were much smarter, and as 'top' predators in their domestic habitat, usually had a much longer life span – a lesson she had quickly learned as most of her spies in the Red Keep were now dead, leaving only a few stray cats and smarter mice for her to warg into.

The results of her work had been very satisfying.

The information she received had allowed her to root out most – if not all – spies within her household guards and servants. All of those discovered had been thrown out to the streets after a very public, and humiliating, punishment, or even execution.

Spying on the Northern Royal family was, after all, a crime of treason, and all the spies of northern descent had been accused of such. The penalties distributed by Lord Umber as her Magnar of Laws had been in accordance to the servant's position and the type of betrayal involved. If a spy was found to be an unknown entity, as she suspected most of those connected to the Spider were, then Heddara had ordered them sent directly to the wall, in order to Keep them from coming back.

All but two, that was.

Two men she had used as examples. One she had been able to ascertain to belong to the Spider, the other had been under the employ of the Lannisters. Both had been guards, one in Winter Town and the other on the Keeps walls contingent, which was a serious breach in security that could not be allowed to happen ever again.

Rohar's fury when she had informed him had been immense. Those guards had been under his command, and for them to accept bribes for information was a treason not only to the crown but to his command. He had asked her to allow him to execute the punishment himself, and she had done so, knowing he understood the need to make an example out of them.

As always, he had been brutal and efficient.

Enough to say that the entire population of Winter Town and almost the full contingent of guards stationed in the city and the Keep had been given a show that they would soon not forget.

No one would be accepting a bribe to turn spy without thinking twice now.

* * *

Rohar looked out the window, smiling at his children playing in the courtyard.

Jon and Rodrick were now old enough to start their lessons in arms and had been gleefully showing off to their sisters.

At four and two and a half name days old, his girls were just too young to hold anything larger than a fork, and therefore looked absolutely adorable dragging around their brothers' old wooden play swords, as they tried to emulate their mother.

At his feet, Storm raise his head, before laying back down, deeming whatever noise he had heard as unthreatening.

"My Prince Consort, my Queen" Turning, he saw Maester Luwin at the entrance to Heddara's solar.

"Maester Luwin." Heddara greeted from behind her desk.

The man bowed "An urgent raven just came in."

Heddara accepted the parchment from her Maester, opening up to read it. Seeing her face go pale at whatever news she had read, Rohar straightened up from his slouch against the window.

"Maester Luwin, call an urgent council meeting. Rohar, I need your help with writing letters for every Keep in the west."

* * *

The Maester took no time in sending guards and pages all around the Keep and Winter Town in search for the members of the council.

Lady Tallhart and Lord Cerwin were in town. The Lady on shopping trip for more paper and books for her accounting, and the Lord on a meeting with various Guild houses.

Lord Karstark had been out with Jonah Snow on an inspection of the new heating system of the town. After the old and decrepit houses had been acquired by the crown, rebuilt and sold out, the Order of infrastructure had focused on an effective sewer system. With that recently completed, they were now expanding Winterfell's heating method that already encompassed the higher classed districts of the town into the rest of the North's capital.

Lord Bolton, Lord Dustin and Lord Manderly were currently in their own Keeps, so pages had been dispatched to call in their secretaries from their offices.

The easiest had been Lord Umber. Having just arrived the day before to give a report on his last months of work, he had been called in from the back courtyard, were he had been putting one guard after the other into the ground.

All in all, forty minutes after the Maester received the Queens orders, the Winter council met in urgency.

* * *

"I bring you here for a very urgent matter." Heddara stated gravely. Beside her Rohar face set into a scowl, having already been told the grave news. "Flints Fingers has been attacked by Ironborn."

The room went up in an uproar, as those present expressed their outrage at the news.

"Silence!" Heddara ordered, her own fury at the attack making her patience shorter. "Letters have been sent to every Keep, with special attention to the Keeps and villages on the west coast."

"My Queen" Lord Cerwin called when she took a moment to center herself. "Was it only Flint's Fingers that was attacked? What was the damage?"

Heddara's face was hard as she answered. "Our southern west coast was hit in what appears to be random attacks. Barrowtown could be in danger if those bastards try to sail up the river. Flints Fingers was hit hard but the Keeps defenses stood strong. The town was not so lucky. Anyone not fast enough in running for the Keep was slain or taken, and the squids had no qualms in destroying anything in their path."

Lord Umber slammed his fist on the table in rage. "You should call the banners my Queen. Those squids should be burned out of the map once and for all!"

Voices in agreement were raised all around the room, as the Lords present showed their thirst for blood.

Heddara raised her fist, calling for silence once more.

"I have called the banners. However, we cannot march just yet."

"Why in the Others can't we, my Queen!" Great Jon asked, With another slam of his giant hand on the table.

"Because the Iron Islands belong to Baratheon." Heddara Said with a sneer. "And as per the treaty we signed, I can't attack his territory without first giving him a chance to solve the problem himself."

* * *

"Ah!" Robert Baratheon laughed, before picking up his cup and taking a big gulp of Arbor Gold. "So, the squids are taking it up with those bastards in the North?" He let out another laugh.

Jon Arryn frowned. "We should do something about it, Robert"

Maester Pycelle let out a small huff. "It is not like they killed anyone that mattered, is it? We wouldn't be breaking the treaty if we let those barbarians deal with it themselves."

"According to my little birds, only a few smallfolk died in the attack and some houses were destroyed." Varys supplied, his face a mask of serenity.

Robert's face transformed, as a smirk stretched his lips. "I say let the squids and wolves go at it! If the gods are with us they will kill each other!"

He raised his cup in a mock toast to the seven, and promptly drained it.

* * *

 _"_ _Ben,_

 _The Ironborn attacked Flints Fingers. It is likely they will strike Barrowton and the fishing villages along the coast._

 _I sent word to Baratheon, but truthfully, I don't expect him to do anything but drink in celebration._

 _In any case, his inaction will give us reason to attack our enemies. Ravens have already been sent to call the banners._

 _It pains me to do this when I have just released you, but if you have not yet taken any vows, I would call you home to act as Regent while Rohar and I are away._

 _Fear not, little brother. I have no intention of dying and leaving you stranded in Winterfell until Rodrick comes of age._

 _With love,_

 _Heddara._

* * *

For the first time in six years, the Lords of the North were once again gathered in Winterfell.

Heddara sighed, before calling for silence.

"The Company of the Rose has already been deployed to the most vulnerable positions" She announced, cutting the ongoing discussion about the situation. "Baratheon is washing his hands of the Ironborn, so that means it is up to us to bring them to heal."

Murmurs went around the hall at her words.

"My Queen, I understand the need to protect our coast, but surely attacking the Iron Islands is going to far." The old Lord of Oldcastle stated. "Attacks from Ironborn are nothing new, after all."

Lord Umber snorted. "And just because of that, we should just flop on our belies and take it? They steal our trees, our women and our harvest, and we should just ignore it?" He spit out and glared at the old man. "The Others take you man, I'm gonna kill those squids and dare any of them to come up here ever again!"

Roars of approval went around the room.

"I agree" Said Jorah Mormont, sitting at the other end of the hall. Beside him, his aunt Maege nodded. "Bear Island has been a frequent target of those pirate scum. I say we deal with this problem once and for all."

Heddara nodded. "Lord Locke" She said, calling out to the old Lord. "Even if what you say is true, those years of ignoring the issue of the Ironborn raiding our lands are over. That happened while we were under another's rule. And that is no more." The man nodded, looking chastised.

Heads all around her nodded in agreement to her words.

"There is also another, more important reason." She looked around the hall, making sure to look each Lord in the eye. "This is not just a raid. This is an attempt at conquering land."

She raised her hand to stop muttering between the Lords. "Ravens arrived just before this meeting started. There were attacks in Barrowtown. Luckily, as they were well prepared due to the warnings from Lord Flint, there were no great causalities, and they are holding against a siege. The fishing villages in the Stony Shore were not so lucky." She narrowed her eyes. "But most importantly, Victarion Greyjoy attempted to sail up the Fever and capture Moat Cailin."

Shouts of outrage were heard all over the great hall. To try to conquer the Moat was a war declaration in everything but name. The Moat was the door to the North, and if it fell, the defenses of the Kingdom would be compromised.

"Fear not. The Moat stands. Greyjoy expected a ruin and found a fortress with a Dragon head mounted over the south gate." She smirked. "He probably believed that any repairs done were focused on the still standing towers. From what Mors Umber reported, they were easily beaten. After they sent up flaming arrows and burned a few ships, the Ironborn went back the way they had come from."

After the Lords had calmed down, and an agreement on movements was reached, she turned to her good brother. "Lord Bolton, I will entrust you with provisions. We can expect a relatively quick campaign, but I do not wish to be caught by surprise."

Roose nodded. "I will move supplies towards the west and Keep them under heavy guard."

"Good." She raised her hand and stroke Storms head, that had risen over the table to look over her subjects.

"We leave on the morrow. Let's get us some grilled squid."

The roars of approval could be heard all the way in Winter Town.

* * *

"What news of the Ironborn situation do you have for us, Lord Varys?" Jon Arryn asked, as the latest council meeting came to a close.

Varys smiled gently at the men present. As usual, the King had found other things to entertain himself with, leaving his Hand to lead the meeting.

Good thing for Lord Arryn that he had an heir to take care of things in the Valley, or his affairs in that Kingdom would have spiraled out of control eventually. As it was, it had taken quite a long time for Elbert Arryn to have a child of his own, having just had his first son the year before.

Lysa Tully's previous dalliance seemed to have left some damage on her person.

"The Ironborn attempted to attack Moat Calin but were repelled by the normal garrison stationed there, I believe the commander at this time is once again Mors Umber. The Company of the Rose is stationed along the coast between the Stoney Shore and the Fever River. The last I heard, Heddara Stark herself is riding to Deepwood Mote in order to sail to the Iron Islands with half of her numbers. The other half has been sent along to coast to Relieve the Company in protecting against further attacks, so they can join their Queen at sea." Varys said, a twinkle in his eye. Heddara Stark might have put a wrench on his plans, but he had to admit the woman was an incredible Queen and battle commander. Not only that, but time and time again she found ways to ferret out his little birds.

No matter. As much as Heddara Stark might be hard to spy on, war made keeping track of people a lot easier.

"So, she plans to take matters to them?" Stanis Baratheon frowned. "That is a very dangerous move. The Ironborn are notoriously strong at sea."

Varys hummed in agreement at his words. "Maybe, my Lord, the northerners wish to fight them on land."

Stanis turned to him, his frown deepening. The man truly had a dower face. At least his wife made him unwind a little bit in private, if his numerous children were anything to go by.

"Have ravens been sent to warn the Riverlands and Westerlands that the Ironborn were active?" The master of ships asked. "We never know if they decide to change tactics."

Maester Pycelle shifted nervously. "Well, my Lord, I did write them as you ordered, but the King said not to bother sending them..."

Lord Arryn's face mirrored Stanis Baratheon so perfectly, that Varys wondered if they had trained it. "That is a grieve oversight. Send them as soon as this meeting is over."

The Maester nodded, looking chastised.

The meeting proceeded as expected as the Lord Hand moved the conversation to other topics, until they were interrupted by one of the Grand Maester's helpers arriving in a hurry and out of breath.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, my Lords!" The man said, gasping for breath. "But an urgent message just arrived from the Rock!"

He extended the parchment towards Lord Arryn, who took it and immediately turned white at the contents.

"What is it?" Asked Barristan Selmy.

"Lannisport has been attacked. The Lannister fleet is almost all gone in flames."

* * *

"How dare those disgusting, slimy, squids, attack the seat of my family! This will not stand!" The blond Queen screeched at her husband, her face contorted by rage. "You better do something about this!"

The man sneered. "I'm doing something about it, aye. I go to war." He rolled his eyes at his wife's screams. "You should be happy that at least your brother is finally seeing some action. Being an heir is certainly much more boring than a member of the Kingsguard. He probably hasn't had a decent fight in years"

He smartly decided to leave the room before the woman could start yapping at him again.

* * *

 **Everyone is asking about how the south is reacting to certain things. I intend to write na annex where verything will be told! :)**

 **For now, everything is focused on the North and on other importante points of view needed for this story.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you to all of you who reviewed, favorited or followed!**

 **Just a quick note: to those commenting about grammatical mistakes I just want to say that English is not my native language, I do not live in an English-speaking country, and I don't work in an English-speaking environment. I do use a spell-checking tool, but it doesn't detect every single mistake. I do try my hardest by double, and sometimes triple read everything, but sometimes things slip through. (Then/Than is my worst nightmare, I tell, these words are evil!). Hope any mistakes you find don't bother you too much. :) I do admit that my author notes ate not always checked, since I sometimes write them directly in the website.**

 **Now, on with the story! Please tell me what you think of this chapter!**

* * *

Chapter Eight – Age 26/27

VIII

"We should have brought all the boats with us" Young Haron Karstark grumbled to his uncle.

Beside them, Greatjon Umber snorted, as he narrowed his eyes, trying to see further across the sea.

"The Queen never does something without good reason boy."

"But the Ironborn can easily beat us at sea!" he protested.

The big man shook his head, as his uncle sighed.

"If we left the shores of our Kingdom unprotected, others could easily attack while we are away. One can never conscript all his men to war. Some must always stay to keep the order and act as a rearguard or a contingency plan." His uncle explained.

"But the Ironborn..." He trembled, imagining the sea farers invading their ship, cutting them all to their deaths.

Greatjon let out a loud chuckle, patting him in the back with such force that he had to brace himself against the ships railing so he wouldn't fall. "Fear not boy, of course the Queen sent her scouts ahead of us so we can avoid any Ironborn ships."

"Really?" He asked, hopeful.

The two men beside him grimaced.

"The scum is busy raiding other lands." His uncle said, his face grim. "The Riverlands and the crownlands probably have their hands full right now."

* * *

Heddara looked out of the window of her cabin, rubbing Storms fur as she came out of her warging trance with Haros.

"Everything is going as planned." She said, sighing in relief as she felt Rohar's hands gently rub the tension from her shoulders.

"The gamble with Seagard payed off?"

She nodded. "It was always a risk, warning them of the danger. But we managed the timing very well. They had just enough time not to be caught by surprise, but not enough to mount an offensive that would send the Ironborn running."

"Perfect for a drawn-out affair then." Her husband said, moving her hair out of the way so he could plant a kiss on her neck. "I must say this ruthless side of you is extremely attractive, wife"

She chuckled, pulling him over for a kiss.

* * *

Rohar pulled his oars from the water, before carefully dipping them in once again, to pull the small boat forward.

Making landfall at night was a danger that most sailors did take, as you could easily lose your ship and your life against rocks or the surf, as you approached land. But that was for sailors that did not have a warg amongst them.

Heddara had brought two owls she had bonded with to be her night guides and had used some of the bigger fish to keep an eye on the depth of the sea.

It had been slow going. Sound travelled far at night, so they had to be very careful. One hour before dawn they had finally abandoned their ships and turned to their rowboats to make the last mile into the coast.

They were off schedule, but even so, they would make it to land before dawn and that would be enough. The guards wouldn't notice them until it was too late.

* * *

"Report!" Heddara ordered Brandon Snow, as he reached her in a lull on the batle.

"Victarion Greyjoy is injured and has been captured. Balon's son Rodrik is dead, and his other son Maron is on his way there from his injuries." He frowned. "Don't know about Balon and Euron."

Heddara nodded. "Balon hasn't been seen at all. Probably cowering behind the doors of his 'Throne room'" She said, sneering at the mention of the self-proclaimed King. "Euron retreated after I hit him in the face. He might lose an eye if I hit him right."

She focused back on the fight at hand, giving a sign to the archers to send another volley over at the Ironborn trying to flank them.

"My Queen!" A page shouted over the noise of the batle. "Ships are coming! Baratheon and Lannister flags."

Beside her, Brandon snorted looking over at the retreating enemies. "Much good they will do now. The job is almost done." Gesturing back to the rearguard, she called for a ram to bring the doors to the next rooms down.

"Let them come but give word to Rohar. I don't want them trying anything funny." She said, moving over to Keep an eye for any possible enemy.

Beside her, Storm huffed, his fur stained with blood from the previous battle to breach the walls.

* * *

It had taken careful planning to get them were they were now.

Pike was, after all, a formidable castle. To breach its walls one needed war machines, and those things were not easy to move around.

Thankfully, Heddara had had the foresight to equip certain, strategical, Keeps with such machines, and Deepwood More had been one of them. As it was, she had needed to call many ships of her Western fleet to be able to move both soldiers and machines where they were most was just her luck that some ships had just been finished and she had been able to leave them for the North's defense.

She had expected opposition at sea, and while she had faced a few Ironborn ships, they had been in much less quantity than they could have been. It had been to her fortune that Balon had been stupid enough to wage war on two fronts, and so his men and woman had been busy burning ships in Lannisport and attempting to conquer Seaguard.

It had also helped that she had managed to keep them entertained at Seaguard, so they hadn't been able to flank them.

A cry went over the hall, as Haros flew through a window and came to rest on her shoulder, where she gave him a well-deserved pet.

Her winged friend had been a crucial help in delivering messages to her allies and scouting out the movements of her enemies.

"What do you want?" The man in front of her spit out, finally getting tired of waiting for her to address him.

She had done it on purpose, of course. Nothing made a conquered man more sloppy and angry, then the indifference of his conqueror.

"Why, what do you think I should do, Balon Greyjoy?" She said, with false indifference pouring out of her voice. "Take your head, maybe? Send you to serve at the wall, perhaps?"

The man sneered at her, spiting towards her feet and prompting Storm to raise his hackles and growl.

"The Iron Islands belong to me!" Baratheon screamed from the other side of the hall, were he was surrounded by Lannister, Arryn and another man she suspected to be Jason Malister. " _I_ will decide what to do with them!"

Heddara snorted, sending a mocking smile in his direction. "Oh? And what would you do?"

Baratheon frowned, looking uncertain.

"His two oldest sons are dead. I say we take his heir as hostage for good behavior and raise his taxes for the next few years." He finally said, before looking over at Arryn, who nodded in agreement.

Who certainly wasn't in agreement was Tywin Lannister and Jason Malister, who were about to open his mouth to retort, when Heddara interrupted.

"I believe I will have to disappoint." She said with a smirk. "I recall receiving a letter stating 'It is not my issue if the Ironborn visit your coast. I care not what they do during such visits either. Do with them as you wish.' Not only that but the treaty we both signed stated clearly that in case one of your little fiefdoms attacked the North and you didn't put them down yourself, then solving the matter would fall to the injured party with no consequence from you." She smiled innocently up at Lord Arryn. "Isn't that so?"

Lord Arryn nodded reluctantly, prompting Tywin Lannister to scowl. He was probably seething at knowing that his fleet could still be whole if the King had been proactive in the defense of his Kingdom.

One his other side, Jason Malister sent her a considering look. Good, maybe she could get an ally out of this mess.

To be fair, Heddara wouldn't lay the blame solely on Baratheon's shoulders. His advisers probably could, and should, have pressed him harder for action.

"I'm glad we have reached an agreement." She said, before turning back towards her captives and completely ignoring Baratheon and his men.

"So, what should I do with you." Heddara pondered, looking back at the self-proclaimed King of the Iron Islands. "I'm afraid you would have been better off with Baratheon, Balon Greyjoy. I have no mercy for those who attack my people."

Her eyes turned hard at the memory of the burnt villages she had seen from Haros eyes.

"I must say you made a grave mistake when you decided to raid my Kingdom." She said, her voice frigid. "Had you kept to the shores of the Seven Kingdoms I wouldn't have cared at all. Me and my men would have stayed home enjoying a good mead and preparing a harvest festival." She sneered at the man, letting her anger show for the first time that evening. "But you had to be greedy on top of everything. You didn't just want independence. Oh, no. You wanted to show everyone how they should fear you, the oh mighty King of the Iron Islands."

She rubbed the fur of Storm's head, mindless of the blood staining his jaw and paws.

"I'm not letting you keep enough power to try such a thing ever again, Balon Greyjoy." She stated firmly, prompting all the men present to jump at attention.

Behind the self-proclaimed King his still living, and non-incarcerated brothers, Victarion and Euron, looked at her with narrowed eyes. Their reputations as fearsome warriors and sailors preceded them, and Heddara had no doubts that they would have strong opinions to share about her next statements.

"The only problem is that I could do with you whatever I wished, and nothing would guarantee that whoever came after you wouldn't do any worse." She looked at the man one last time before turning to Baratheon.

"I am putting into effect the treaty we signed six years ago, Robert Baratheon, first of his name King of the Andals and the Rhionar, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm." She stated formally. "Through the letters exchanged between us during the last two moons, it is obvious that you did not care for the consequences of the actions of your subject, Balon Greyjoy, Warden of the Iron Islands, and it is therefore implicit that you silently supported them.

"As The Kingdom of the North has successfully neutralized the threat imposed to its Realm, and subdued and is now in control of the Iron Islands, I, Heddara Stark, first of my name, Queen in the North, take these lands as part of my Kingdom, to be forever freed from the ruling of the Iron Throne, and brought into the Realm of Winter."

The chaos was immediate. Baratheon cried in outrage, as Arryn tried to calm him down and the Ironborn Lords present tried to protest.

* * *

 **So, Heddara decided to influence the war a little, by making the fighting at Seagard more prolonged by evening up the field.**

 **Now what will be Balon's fate? And the rest of the Greyjoys?**


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you for all the reviews, favorites and follows! You're all amazing!**

 **Here is the next chapter! Let me know what you think. There is a A/N at the end.**

* * *

Chapter Nine – Age 26/27

IX

The chaos was immediate. Baratheon cried in outrage, as Arryn tried to calm him down and the Ironborn Lords present tried to protest.

At her request, Storm let out a cry, bringing silence back to the room.

"I care not for your complaints" She stated firmly. "Lord Arryn, please keep a better watch over your charge. This falls into the non-aggression pact we signed after the Rebellion, and you very well know it." She ignored Baratheon's outrage at still being considered a 'charge' turning instead towards the Lannister Lord. "Besides, I will keep a firmer hand over the Ironborn activities in the sea, which was certainly not happening under your rule. If they somehow decide to attack again, you can come and conquer them back into your own rule, as I just did."

Lord Tywin frowned. "Reparations must be made. They burned a great portion of my fleet, and I refuse to face the cost of building it up again on my own." Jason Malister nodded in agreement.

Heddara hummed, considering. "That is understandable. After all, they burnt most of the fishing fleet belonging to House Flint. However, that has only happened due to the inaction of your own King, and therefore my generosity will only go so far." Her smirk turned vicious as she raised a hand to rest on top of Storms head. "The Ironborn fleet has not been completely decimated. Most of their ships arrived from their raiding in your lands too late to face us at sea, and so are quite intact. I will gift you with some of them as compensation, but no more them I deem acceptable, in exchange for a trading treaty with your Houses. Anything else, you will rebuild with your own coin, or ask for satisfaction from your King."

Balon's Greyjoy's face reddened in his fury. "Those are Ironborn ships! They will sail only under Ironborn hands and follow the purpose of the Drowned God!"

Heddara regarded him coldly. "You lost the right to speak such things the moment you ordered the first raid on my land."

"The old way is the only way for the Iron Islands!" He cried out, raising his head.

"There is no oldest way in this world, then the way of the First Man." She stated strongly. "You raid because you are too lazy to trade. You pillage because you are too craven to duel. You rape because you are not man enough to find a willing woman. You take salt wives because if you didn't, no woman would wish to marry you." She sneered down at him, taking a step closer. "You are nothing but a trumped-up Pirate with illusions of grandeur, too craven to even lead his own men in battle."

He spit at her, missing her face when she calmly stepped out of the way.

"I challenge you to a duel! A trial by combat like you Greenlanders like so much!" He said, showing a feral smile.

Heddara chuckled, the sound followed by those of Rohar and the rest of the Northern men present.

"Wrong Gods, Greyjoy." She said with a smirk. "You want the old ways, I'll give you a trial with eight thousand years of existence."

Turning to Rohar, she gestured for him to bring Balon's surviving children closer. "You are Theon and Yara, correct?" At their nod, she smiled at them. Unfortunately, many children in this world didn't deserve the parents fate had chosen for them. "I trust my men treated you as befitting to your station?" They nodded once again, uncertain of what she wanted.

"Fear not. The First men do not punish children for their parent's follies. You are here to understand." She looked the two of them in the eye, bending down to be at their level. "This man is your father, and you love him as children do. But he also did terrible things, and for that he must be punished, as any other man would."

She gave a last smile at a shaky nod and an angry stare, before turning to the assembled Lords present.

"Lord Umber, as Magnar of Laws in the North, please list the offences of this man"

Greatjon Umber came forward. The gigantic man had been wearing a sneer on his face since the start of the procedures, but now blanked his face to support a more professional expression that he had perfected during the last few years in service to the crown.

"Balon Greyjoy of House Greyjoy, Warden of the Iron Islands. You are accused of ordering the raiding of the following locations: of Flint's Fingers, which resulted in the destruction of twenty Flint fishing boats, and five and forty deaths, six of them of children under the age of eleven name days, and kidnapping five woman;

"Of the shores of the Rills and Stony shore, resulting in four completely burnt villages, one and fifty deaths of which one and ten were children and the disappearance of seven woman and two young female children;

"Of attacking Barrowtown, destroying six boats and stealing the products of the last harvest and finally, of attempting to attack Moat Cailin, which is considered the gravest declaration of war to the North." Bowing, Lord Umber returned to his place among the other Lords.

The hall was silent, with only Balon's children's surprised gasps being heard. Her face hard, Heddara turned back to the Greyjoy man.

"Is there anything you would wish to add to your defense, Balon Greyjoy?"

The man spit at her again in answer.

"Very well then. As Queen of the North and witness to the consequences of your actions, I Heddara Stark, consider you guilty of the crimes you are accused of." She narrowed her eyes at him. "The sentence for such crimes is obviously death, however, the Nights Watch is always looking for people to join its ranks, if you so choose."

Greyjoy laughed sarcastically. "What is dead can never die." He said, giving her a hateful look.

Heddara sneered back. "It can, if you burn it into ashes or stick dragon glass into their hearts." She said back, citing the old Northern tale of the Others and the wights.

The Northern Lords chuckled as the Ironborn looked confused, but she ignored all of them.

"Bring me Ice. And take the children back to their rooms." She wanted them to understand what was happening, not to become traumatized for life.

As the children were rushed out of the Hall and the comforting weight of Ice was on her hand, she turned to the Greyjoy Lord. Her good brother had put a wooden bench in front of him to help stabilize his head.

"You go so low as to do the thing yourself?" Balon mocked, in a last attempt to attack her.

She simply gave him a wry smile. "In this issue, we Starks have always followed the old way of the First Men. The one who passed the sentence, is the one to swing the sword."

* * *

His eye stung. Fuck all the blood.

His brother was stupid as fuck. There was no other way to call it.

Why the fuck would he order Victarion to attack the North if he hadn't completely lost his fucking mind?

Before that day, he had never before seen the Queen of the North, but now he cursed that terrible oversight.

The woman was glorious.

Too bad she was married.

Not that that had ever stopped him before, but he had a feeling he shouldn't try anything with the Bolton man. He might go by Stark these days, but there was a saying about Bolton's in the Iron Islands, from a time when a King had taken one as a salt wife.

You could take the Bolton out of the Dreadfort, but you could never take their knives.

Simply put, that King had never made it past a week after taking the woman, having been found short a few layers of skin.

"Now what to do with the two of you." Heddara Stark wondered, as she calmly cleaned her family blade with a rag provided by her husband, completely ignoring the cooling corpse and the detached head laying in the middle of the hall.

The cut above his eye throbbed. Thankfully it hadn't taken his eye, but it had been a close thing. As it was, the Queen in the North had left him with a scar for life. And the blood seeping into his eye was annoying as fuck.

He could feel himself getting aroused at the picture she presented. His experience with powerful women was very limited, and he had never thought he would find one attractive at all.

Maybe he should change that. There was something to be said about making a strong woman warrior surrender willingly to him.

"Your generation is, quite honestly, a bust. I cannot trust either of you to not follow on your brother's footsteps." His new Queen said, her eyes studying him and his brother intently. "The seat of the Iron Islands will pass to one from the youngest generation."

She returned rag and sword to the ex – probably still knife happy – Bolton, before turning back to them.

"I will allow for a… let's call it a Wardensmoot." The women said with a slight smirk. "Inspired in your Kingsmoot. You will be allowed to put forth your candidates, but they must be vetoed by myself, considering their reputations and interviews I will hold for the occasion."

Someone behind him stepped forward, probably considering himself relatively safe, now that Balon was short a head.

"And when will this take place?" Ah, it was Rodrick Harlaw. The pacifistic bastard.

"The youngest member of the Greyjoy House at this time is currently five years old. In ten years he will be off age, and the Wardensmoot will be held."

He kept himself silent, observing his new Queen as she silenced the protests of the Iron Lords present in the hall. All this talk was just pointless noise to him. If he would never be able to rule, who cared about who did?

"I will hear no more about this. During this time, I will appoint an Overseer who will make sure that the Laws of the Kingdom are followed in these Islands. He will in turn appoint a Governor from among the Iron Lords to be regent for the still to be appointed Warden of the Iron Islands." She narrowed her eyes, looking around at the various Lords. "The North does not allow for slavery. That means no more salt wives or thralls. You will do your own work or pay to get it done. And if you want a woman, you will get a willing one, or you will either find yourself one head shorter, or wearing Black for life." She sneered at the men in the hall. "And it won't be the head above your shoulders."

A silence went through the Lords and seemed to drag on forever, as they shuffled uncomfortably in place. Heddara Stark seemed content in making them squirm, but he was done with the dramatics.

"That is all well and good, but that doesn't tell me what you intend to do with me." He said, finally tired of waiting for what he wanted to know. "I can't be a Lord or a King, your giving our boats to the Lanninsters, and taking the rest for yourself, so we can't even fish!" He sneered at the group of Lords from the Seven Kingdoms lingering at the edge of the Hall, no doubt wanting to know how things would turn out, even though they no longer had anything to do with the situation. "What is left for us, uh? Are we supposed to all be digging in the rocks trying to plant seeds we know we will never see grow?"

Besides his new Queen, Rohar Stark smirked, as his wife chuckle lightly.

"These are the Iron Islands, Euron Greyjoy." She said. "You will be digging the rocks for _Iron_ and selling it to me for food. You know, like any normal people would. Not to mention that I said nothing of your fishing boats. You can keep the smaller ones that can't be refitted for war purposes."

He blinked, seemingly not understanding her words.

"Of course, it would be a shame to turn some of the finest sailors of Westeros into miners. I will allow for a certain number of the more experienced sailors to join the Northern fleet, but you will be relegated to lower positions until you can prove your loyalty to the Kingdom"

The woman's eyes were hard on him, but he cared not.

He had no doubts it wouldn't take him too long to climb the ranks until he was the captain of his own ship, and then he could once again be master of his own choices.

He would follow the Direwolf for now. There was no reason not to. She was certainly stronger, and more powerful, than Balon ever was.

Only time would tell of what he would decide to do in the future.

But first, he had to get this fucking cut to stop bleeding. His eye was fucking hurting.

* * *

"King Baratheon, Lord Arryn, a word if you please" Heddara called, nodding at the other Westerosi men in their corner of the Hall, after her business with the Ironborn had been dealt with and passed over for Lord Umber to supervise.

"What do you want more?" Baratheon asked, sneering at her.

Lord Arryn sighed, making Heddara almost pity the man for having been given such a difficult charge.

"To inform you that I shall be legitimizing my nephew as a Stark soon. I might wait a couple more years, but it won't be long. I believe you would take the news better given in person."

Baratheon looked confused. "You wish to legitimize your older brother's son? Why would you do such a thing, and why does that concern me?"

Heddara shook her head lightly. "None of my brothers ever had any children that I know of, King Baratheon."

Robert blinked at her for several minutes, but both Lord Arryn and Tywin's eyes opened in surprise, immediately understanding the implications.

"I will be gifting the name Stark to my sister's son." She explained, and swiftly saw the face of the man contort as he finally understood what that meant.

"How dare you!" He bellowed, bringing the attention of the people still left in the hall to their conversation. "I should kill you for this! To keep that dragonspawn hidden all these years! The son of the man who took Lyanna!"

Lord Arryn put a hand on the man's shoulder and whispered in his ear, trying to calm him down, no doubt.

"Whatever you think that boy is, he is my sister's son, and her last words to me were to keep him safe. If you truly loved her, you would not wish his death."

Baratheon's fury abated slightly, but he still looked on the verge of a murderous rage.

"You want to use him for the Iron Throne!"

Heddara laughed, putting her head in her hands at the ridiculous statement. The number of people that believed it was ridiculous.

"Baratheon, if I wanted that damned chair, I would have taken it seven years ago. You're very welcome to that piece of steel. I didn't make the North independent only to bow down again. Not even for my own blood." She looked the man hard in the eyes. "I will make my nephew a Stark and announce his mother's name soon, and gift him lands as I will my own children. I will also announce that I have no intention of ever marching against the Iron Throne unless in defense of my people, as per the treaty we have signed. You have my word now as you did then."

Baratheon looked her in the eye, his face serious as Lord Arryn kept whispering in his ear.

"Very well, I will let the boy go for Lyanna, as long as he never steps foot on my Kingdom. If he ever does I will consider it an act of war and kill him. And then I will come for your frozen chair."

* * *

"Why did you send us word?" Lord Malister asked, finding him in camp hours later.

Rohar looked up, taking not of the suspicious face looking down at him.

"Seagard was an obvious target for the Ironborn. It is the richest port in the western Riverlands."

"But why?" The man insisted, prompting Rohar to sigh.

"We were allies once, we believe we can be again." He said. "Helping you was a step forward in this direction and made sure both of our parties succeeded in this war, as we did in the last one."

Jason studied him with keen eyes, before nodding. "Tell your Queen she can expect correspondence from me and from Lord Tully."

* * *

He was polishing his sword when she found him. Armors were noisy things, so he heard her easily, giving him enough time to take push his helmet out of the seat next to his own.

"You did not accompanied your father earlier"

He shrugged at the statement, but recognized for what it was. "I have no interest in such things."

"You are the heir to the Westerlands though. It is important to be present in such occasions."

He chuckled. "I was never a politician. When my father is dead and gone, I will leave that role to my brother."

She sighed. "Do as you wish. Tell your brother to send my council a raven if he wishes for a trade alliance in the future."

"Will do your Highness."

Heddara shrugged. She owed nothing to the golden Lion, even though her heart ached with pity at the lost look on his face.

* * *

 **Lots of people were saying that Heddara should kill all the Greyjoys, in The Rains of Castamere style. Well, Heda is not exactly in the business of killing defenseless children. And even if you hate Theon and Yara/Asha, they are still just that, children. It would definitely not fit Heddara's personality to be so ruthless and heartless. She decided to give them a second chance. But they will all be very closely monitored.**

 **Most of you will hate Euron living, but you will see soon that I have a very specific role for him in the future. Don't forget that at this time he hasn't done most of the horrible things he is supposed to do, so he is technically salvageable. We will see if he stays that way.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A Big Shout Out to everyone who reviewed the last chapter of the story! Thank you to all those who favorited or followed.**

 **Hope you enjoy this chapter. Let me know what you think.**

 **Check the end for an A/N.**

* * *

Chapter Ten – Age 27-28

X

 _Dear Hed,_

 _Just came back from my first ranging._

 _You were right. No one can stop me from going beyond the wall if I feel like it, since I never swore to follow anyone's lead but your own, and you have released me to the wild, so to say._

 _Don't worry, I followed your advice. I went by sea and took plenty of men – all volunteer adventurers such as myself._

 _Hardhome was interesting, but completely devoid of life. I think next time I will go by land to visit the heart tree the brothers swear on._

 _The problems I told you of on my last letter are still evident. I really think you should do something about it._

 _On another note, the Ironborn you sent up here are doing as well as can be expected. That guy you got there as Overseer seems to be doing a good job._

 _…_

* * *

 _Dear Jeor,_

 _I hope we can Keep ourselves from falling into formality, after so many years of knowing one another._

 _I received troubling letters from my brother on the state of the Wall, and I hope you can clarify some of those issues by writing me a formal report on the state of the Nights Watch and the Wall in general. Please leave nothing out._

 _If not, I plan to visit you in the next few months, as part of a progress I am organizing._

 _There is no better way to make your subjects loyal to you then to make yourself remembered after all._

 _…_

* * *

 _…_

 _As per your instructions, I have dispersed the various Ironborn uninterested in anything but the sea though several ships of the Manderly fleet and the Company of the Rose. Many of them gave up after realizing the amount of work they would have to put into it, now that they didn't have thralls to do the more menial tasks. Euron and Victarion Greyjoy have been put under one of the Companies most trusted Captains and seem determined to regain their Captain positions eventually._

 _A word of caution on Euron though. The man is ambitious. Very ambitious. And while that is not necessarily a bad thing, it could potentially cause problems in the future._

 _The launch of the Iron mines is going well, considering the work needed to get them going. The presence of the Company is keeping the tempers in check. Things have considerably calmed down now that the Lords understand they won't need to dig the mines themselves. On the same note, the smallfolk are also calmer now that they understand they will be properly recompensed for their work and that they will not be used as substitutes for the Thralls._

 _On the issue of Thralls, the last ones to choose so, have been sent on their way to Essos to find their way back to their own lands, as have the last salt wives. An effort has been made to pay the way for those from the farthest reaches of the seas, within reason, of course. They already ow their freedom to Your Majesty, there is nothing else our great Kingdom should be obliged to provide them. Those who decided to settle in the North have also been settled across the land. As per your instructions, we made sure that they were spread out so there were not too many in the same place. The local populations will keep an eye on them to ensure good behavior._

 _As to the position of Regent, there are a few men that have been leaving a good impression, chief of them Rodrick Harlaw, uncle to Balon's children. However, it is still much too soon to leave the Ironborn to their own devices, so this is an issue that should be left on the shelf for now._

 _I would advise you to foster the possible heirs, my Queen. Bolon's children are in the care of their uncle, and they would turn out alright, but the secondary branch of the Greyjoy Family, from Quellon's siblings could prove a different matter. They will be salivating for the position. Better to keep an eye on all of them._

 _Loyally,_

 _Karon Snow,_

 _Lieutennant of the Company of the Rose,_

 _Overseer of the Iron Islands_

* * *

"I don't like this, Rohar" His wife said, once they were alone on top of the wall, Rodrik and Jon, the only children they had brought with them on their progress, having followed Benjen further along the structure as they admired the sights.

"What do you like the least, Dara?" He asked with a sigh, agreeing with her on the mater. "The low numbers? The low skills? The low morals?" He shook his head in exasperation at the terrible state of what was once an incredible warrior order.

Heddara sighed, rubbing her forehead with her gloved head. Taking a step, he brought her closer, so they could share their body heat as they looked over the wall and to the icy plains beyond it.

"All of that and that man, Mance Rayder. When Benjen told me about him I could not believe it. What could Lord Commander Qorgyle have been thinking, raising a child at the Wall?"

His wife seemed incredibly upset at the notion, and he could see why that was. "You ache for the boy he once was, and the choices taken from him."

She nodded, her head against his chest. "Yes. And I fear for when he finally tries to find a different life. I don't see an outcome where he doesn't become a deserter. He seems to driven for anything else."

He sighed again, turning his head at the raised voices of his children.

"Write to your secretary Rohar." Heddara asked, as they turned to join the boys and her brother. "The measures we discussed should be given priority."

* * *

 _Parek,_

 _The state of the Watch is worse than we feared._

 _That they only maintained three castles we already knew. But they have so few members that they no longer patrol along the Wall itself, but only in the immediate areas to their Keeps._

 _This is obviously the reason for the increase in attacks of Wildlings on Bear Island and the coast._

 _Prepare the measures we spoke before our departure from court and have them ready for the first Council meeting after our arrival._

 _Rohar Stark_

 _Prince Consort, Master of the Order of the Army and the Royal Guard_

* * *

 _... and we have seen an increase in the number of people coming from the Riverlands. Most of them are leaving Frey land, unhappy with the way the Late Walder Frey runs his lands and in the tax they must pay._

 _I can give them work, but I don't know if I should trust these smalfolk, even with the new trade agreements we celebrated with the Riverlands. Not to mention that I have no way to control how many of them actually come up from the border. I guess that if they try to go further North they will either be found by the Cragnomen or have to pass through the Moat, so they are not a danger to the rest of the Kingdom, but I become restless at being so exposed._

 _I await your advice and orders._

 _Your loyal subject and cousin._

 _Lord Daron Flynt_

* * *

 _Dear Heda,_

 _I hope everything goes well in your pregnancy. It is a joy to know that another Stark will soon join the realm._

 _I received your proposal to foster my younger daughters with delight. When they reach the right age, I will gladly send them to Winterfell, so they can become as close to your children as we are to each other._

 _I hope your goodbrother sends you his child too. The boy has lost his mother and will need a woman to teach him about the good things in life. Gods know his father wont._

 _Speaking of Roose Bolton, your idea of a progress through the Kingdom was masterful. In one move you showed interest in your subjects, got to know said subjects and the difficulties of the people, and drained the coffers of all possible contenders to your crown. I hear Bolton threw such lavish feats during your visit to the Dreadfort that he will surely have no money for revolts for the next decade. Well done my friend._

 _On another matter, I have interesting news about my brother. Jorah as decided to marry this Hightower he met in Higharden when he went there for trade talks in your name. I must say I worry for this union. Bear Island has seen many great things since the end of the war, but life as a Mormont doesn't compare to life as a lady of a Southern House. I hope the woman is prepared for the difference._

 _With wishes for good health and a strong babe._

 _Your friend,_

 _Maege_

* * *

 _Dear Cousin,_

 _Thank you for your report, and for your understanding on the impossibility of my visit at this time._

 _I understand your concerns with your border with the Riverlands. You are the most exposed to an attack form the south, as you have little protection for those coming North from west of the Greenfork. An unusual route, but a smart one for those avoiding the twins, the swamps of the Cragnomen and the Kingsroad, or for those coming from the Frey's Lands. You are right to worry. Never trust a Frey, I would say._

 _I believe you should accept those that come to you asking to stay in the North, if they agree to work for you at a cheaper coin than normal for, let us say, one or two years at least, and they must live only were you let them during that time. Make sure that they are spread out and that they are never in a bigger number than your local smallfolk. If their numbers become too much, we can move them to the Stoney Shore, were there is a need for fishermen._

 _I remember that your land is full of rocks and stones, not very good for much of anything but forests. Have these people gather the rocks in carts and howl them to the border. Then have them dump them in a semblance of a wall._

 _They don't need to make any engineering project out of it. In fact they can make it as uneven and treacherous as possible. To build a full wall in that area would be very difficult, due to it's geographical location. And the size of the wall itself. We can, however, make the job very difficult for anyone trying to come in by horse or carriage, by making it impossible for them to cross except on very specific points. And also make it difficult for the Freys to attempt to steal any land. It will also have the added benefit of clearing some fields that you can use for farming._

 _I leave it to you to choose those passage points in locations that will be easier to keep an eye on by your men._

 _Please don't forget tha…_

* * *

"Let's get out of this city already!" The captain shouted out, ordering the sailors to raise the anchor and get on their way towards the open sea.

Euron glanced towards the city of Bravos and the gigantic statue that greeted them as they departed it.

Bravos, Pentos, Myr, Tyrosh. Highgarden, Oldtown, Lys. So many different cities with such riches had thought him many things.

The most important of all?

His brother was stupid as fuck. May he rot... wherever he was.

What is dead may never die. Blah. He wouldn't mind his brother rising again so he could burn his sorry ass, like in the stories of his ship mates.

Why the hell had his brother contented himself with raiding the summer islands and the shepherds that lived along the coasts of Essos, when he could have raided all these rich cities?

In the first five minutes in Pentos he had already seen five different ways of taking the city by sea. These Essoci were so worried about the Dothraki and their squabbles on land that they had started to loosen up on their defenses against intruders by sea.

His new Queen had been right. His brother was a craven fool.

However, even though his instincts still thought out ways to raid any port city worth its salt, his new position demanded other things.

After a year following instructions to the letter, he had finally climbed his way up in the ship hierarchy, even though he was still a long way from being where he wanted – a captain of his own vessel and a commander of his own fleet.

Living without thralls and salt wives had been strange. Especially when slaves were so common in most cities in Essos and everyone in the Northern fleet was completely forbidden from taking any slaves into their service, even while in Essos, unless there was no other possible alternative. Still there was something about taking a willing woman and paying for your own ale with coin that had been given to you as payment for a well-executed work.

The first was certainly more satisfying.

But in the end, there was one thing that had definitely cemented his belief that the Iron Islands were better off under the Norther Crown.

He was now certain that as a member of the Northern fleet, he would never again feel hunger.

And neither would the people of his homeland.

* * *

Twentieth Law Decree of the year 290 AC by the Council of The North

Article 1

By order of Queen Heddara, first of her name, The Order of the Dawn is hereby created as a branch of the Northern Army.

Article 2

The Order of the Dawn is hereby given the responsibility of patrolling along the Wall, from the Shadow Tower to Castle Black, and from Castle Black to Eastwatch by-the-Sea. The Order must cooperate with the Nights Watch, but not overrun the other's responsibilities and Keeps.

The Order of the Dawn is also given the responsibility of protecting and restoring the defensive walls of the villages of Mole's Town and Queenscrown.

Article 3

The Order of the Dawn must not go beyond the Wall under any circumstances that do not include defending from an attack on itself or on the structure and the realm it defends.

Article 4

The members of the Order of the Dawn will serve in rotations of four months and cannot serve for more than two straight rotations.

Commandment of the Order of the Dawn will be served under appointments of five years, and no commander can serve more than two straight appointments. Any commander of the Order of the Dawn must have previously served more than three rotations with the institution.

Any other high ranking official of the Order of the Dawn will be appointed for two-year tenures, after having served for a minimum of six months.

Article 5

The members of the Order of the Dawn must swear to follow the duties of the members of the Order and to uphold the honor of the institution.

As members of the Royal Northern Army, the members of the Order of The Dawn are not obliged to follow the vows of the Nights Watch, such as celibacy and abnegation of all family heritages.

Article 6

By order of Queen Heddara, first of her name, every soldier in the Norther army must serve a rotation under the Order of the Dawn, before their third year of service. Any soldier wishing to be elevated to an officer rank must have served more than three rotations in the Order of the Dawn.

* * *

 **A lot of people talked about incorporating the Thralls into the North, but I figured most of them would not want such a thing. They would rather try to make their way back to their own original homes, and I don't see Heddara refusing. She would rather get rid of people that could cause problems in the future, rather than keep them around. Those who chose to stay in the North would be those who have nowhere else to go.**

 **Things are coming along now. Only 3 more chapters after this and then the Epilogue.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Thank you for all the Reviews! I love to read them!**

 **Someone pointed out that "King Baratheon" is the wrong term of address. That Heddara should call him "King Robert". I did it on purpose, because Heddara doesn't respect Robert as a King, she uses his last name in a way to show that he is only King because of who his ancestors were.**

 **Here is the next chapter! Let me know what you think :)**

* * *

Chapter Eleven – Age 29

XI

Heddara chuckled, bouncing her youngest son lightly to keep him sleeping.

"You will first have to finish your work before you can go train with Black Wing, Rodrick." She said with a fond smile.

"But it's stitching mother! It's a girly thing!" He whined, looking over at his cousin hopping to find some commiseration.

Jon bit his lip, looking at her sideways. He probably agreed with Rodrick but knew she wouldn't relent.

"When you are fighting in a battle, you might need this skill to save each other's lives. When I fostered in Bear Island, I once had to stich over a wound on aunt Maege's shoulder."

Arya looked at her with wild eyes, mesmerizer by the tale of blood, before going back to her stitching, in a much more enthusiastic way.

Sansa, however, frowned. "Why didn't the Maester do it?"

"He already had his hands full of other, more serious wounds. So, he only made sure to clean Maege's wound, and was glad that I could help with the stitching." She hummed softly to the baby in her arms and looked over to make sure that the maid was keeping Bran entertained with his blocks. "Maybe tomorrow you should visit the Healing Halls. It would do you some good to see how the Maesters can help the people, but how sometimes it would also be very easy for the people to help themselves. It is especially important for a warrior to know how to take care of his or her wounds until he can get someone to take a proper look at them."

She raised a brow when she saw they were looking at her and not at the stitches in their lap. "What are you waiting for? Finish your work. No warging training until you have finished it in an acceptable way."

"Yes Mother." The children chorused, some more excitedly then other.

She chuckled at the pouting faces of some of them. "Don't worry darlings. I don't expect them to look very pretty. But they should do their function."

Relieved at her declaration, the four of them got back to work.

* * *

Walking around the streets of Lys, Euron took a deep breath and smiled up at the sky.

After three years of hard work…

Freedom felt good.

Having his own crew and ship felt good.

Granted, the ship was part of the fleet commanded by Manderly, and the crew had been chosen by the man, but he had full command of the ship, and everyone had to obey his orders.

Damn, he had missed it.

Even though he had to follow the direction and requests of a man like Manderly, he found himself being able to do so when the reward was this.

But that didn't mean he didn't have plans.

Oh, he had plans alright.

One day, he would convince Heddara Stark to allow him to become a free agent for the Kingdom, with freedom to explore every corner of the World.

One day, he would discover what riches awaited him in Valyria.

But that day had not come yet. On this day he was in Lys to buy – and then immediately free – Lyseni bed slaves.

Without salt wives, the Ironborn had quickly warmed up to a Westeros staple.

Brothels.

Even though they were not used to have to pay to have a woman, at least they had coin now, and could use it for such things.

That the laws against taking a woman against her will were always carried out with scary efficiency was certainly an encouragement to visit such establishments.

In any case, the Ironborn had adhered to the brothels like only sailors could. Only problem was, there were not enough woman.

The salt wives had almost all fled. The only ones that had stayed had done so for their children, and usually refused to have anything to do with their previous… husbands.

The Overseer had asked permission to send for women from Essos, stating the morale of the men in his territory. Personally, Euron thought that the man just wanted to get some himself, but he didn't care.

The Queen had allowed it, under the agreement that no slave would step foot on a Northern ship, and that the coin for such a venture would come from the Ironborn's own coffers.

Now he just had to find some women who would still wish to have the same… profession… even after they had the freedom to choose it.

Heh, he was sure he would find some. This was Lys after all.

* * *

"Lorin, please escort these Ladies to the ship, please. Make sure the men behave." He ordered his third mate, whom he had taken with him on his quest to find willing whores.

He had firstly headed directly to the slave trading houses near the port, but one look inside had dissuaded him of such notions. The slaves there were kept under very close watch, and there would be no chance of him being able to talk to any of them before "buying".

So, he headed instead to several of the many brothels in the city, intent on persuading some of their slave workers to a change of scenery and an increase in liberties.

If he took the time to be certain that he only invited those he knew would be worth his money, was of no consequence. It was good for business after all.

A few days later and he was finally done with his main business and could now focus on more personal pursuits.

Like the shiny treasurers gracing the stalls of the market in Lys.

* * *

He saw them as he was carefully inspecting a stall full of old tomes In Valyrian.

Learning the strange language had been his first priority after joining the Northern fleet, since his Queen and Manderly saw it as selecting factor when choosing a captain.

After all, they said, most of the trade in the North was made with Essos, were most people spoke the language. It was important that a captain would be able to solve problems with the locals.

So, imagine his surprise that, just as he was turning to the vendor, prepared to bargain for a few books, he saw the silver hair.

Now, silver hair in itself was not a strange sight in Lys, quite on contrary actually. However, this silver hair belonged to a young man, who was followed by a younger girl.

He would have never realized who they were had it not been for a painting he had pilfered from a pirate ship four years before, that depicted a woman who was almost the spitting image of the young man just a few steps from him.

Quickly taking care of his business, he hurried to follow the young couple through the market streets, finally reaching them as the young man stumbled over a basket laying besides a stall at the edge of the market.

"Watch where you leave your things woman!" He spit out, his face contorting into a vicious scowl and his furious eyes on the vendor. "I should have you put onto the streets for your impudence!"

He snorted at the arrogant words, unimpressed at the image the boy presented. "Where are your minders, little lizard?"

Wide, violet eyes turned to him, scowl and frown firmly in place as he looked him up and down as if measuring his worth and finding him lacking.

Euron snorted again. Ironborn had never been ones for fancy dress. What was the point when the wind and the salt would just ruin them as soon as you got back into the ship? The little lizard would soon learn not to judge men by their looks.

"Who are you to speak to me in such a way?"

Euron smirked. What an arrogant little shit. "Someone older, physically stronger and generally more powerful than you."

The boy sneered, as the girl looked at him in curiosity and confusion.

"No one is more powerful than a King!"

Euron let out a chuckle. "I'm certain your father also thought that way. That is why when he decided to burn the Lord Paramount of the biggest territory in his Kingdom, he didn't live to see the next summer."

The sneer in the boy's face intensified.

"You follow the Usurper, don't you? Or the Pretender in the North. What are you here for? Did they send you to kill me?"

Euron laughed, the sudden sound prompting the young girl to jump in fright.

"Little lizard, if I was an assassin, you would already be dead!" He chuckled. "Although how you walk around without guards, when you are aware of the possibility of assassins just shows how reckless and mad you are. It seems you are just like your father."

"My father was ten times the man you are!" The boy screamed, enraged. "How can a man who either follows a stupid whore or a drunk Usurper besmirch his rightful King!"

Tired of the foolish boy's rants, and insulted at the offense of his Queen, Euron grabbed the boy by his neck, pulling him from the ground and closer to him.

"You are as stupid as your father." He sneered at him. "You think your father was great? He was a madman burning people alive for imagined offences. He got his just rewards." Wanting the message to sink in, he slammed the idiot into the wall, making sure his head gave a satisfying thud against it.

Truth of the matter was that while some Ironborn resented the North for 'invading' their Islands, he had never been too bothered by it. He was a man who only accepted two ways of life: either he had the power to rule, or he followed someone who was obviously more powerful than him and could get him what he wanted.

And in all her resplendent glory, Heddara Stark was probably the only living being worth following. For one, he knew that once he proved himself she would give him the freedom to explore as he wished, she did the same for her brother after all. And then, she was a warrior he could respect, and she held the loyalty of many others. The Drowned God knew he would never be able to defeat the likes of Bolton or Umber on a fight on land. At the sea? That was another story. No one had better sea legs than a Greyjoy after all.

What mattered was that he followed his Queen on his own accord, and therefore no one, much less an arrogant would-be prince, would call her a whore in his presence.

"You talking shit about others people Queen's is also incredibly stupid, you know?" He spit in the boy's face, relishing in the sight of his saliva running down the boy's cheek, his eyes a mixture of hate and fear. "Especially when such Queen could carve you up and give you to her direwolf to eat for supper. That is, if her Bolton husband didn't skin you for it first."

He gave him a sadistic smile. "You know, I always wondered how Targaryen's were capable of controlling Dragons. Maybe if I cut you open, I could find out?"

The young girl whimpered, clearly conflicted on what to do. Euron had cornered them into an alley, and she seemed hesitant on leaving them alone and going for help.

He chuckled again. "Have no fear little lizard. While following through my threats would be wonderful, it would make me all dirty with blood, and cleaning it in a hurry to be presentable back in the ship would be a terrible bother. Your stupid brother will be fine for now." He gave him another shake and slam for good measure, tightening his grip on his neck to make sure it would bruise, before letting him slide down the wall and crumble on the ground.

Ignoring the pathetic spluttering form on the ground, he bent down so he could be on a more even level with the girl. She was young, probably around his Queen's heir age, but even though she lived in exile, she seemed incredibly naive. She was so shocked by what she had just seen that he would bet this was the first violent encounter she had ever witnessed.

"I know Willem Darry and Gerold Hightower are both dead from fevers, but I am quite aware that Oswell Whent is very much alive and kicking. Slipping out from his watch is not only disrespectful but stupid and foolish as hell. While my Queen cares not about what you do, you are hunted by Baratheon's men, little girl." He gave her his best sadistic smile, before turning to leave.

"You shouldn't wake the Dragon!" The boy spit out from the ground.

He laughed again. "You should ask more questions to your minder, little lizard. The North knows how to kill Dragons." Sending him another blood lusted smile, he continued on his way, uncaring for the two siblings.

He would be sending some letters from his ship, before leaving the port.

But first, he had more little treasures to find in the market. Valyria wouldn't explore itself after all.

And he wanted to know what the little lizards had been selling.

* * *

The slight screech of the door to her solar warned her of the entrance of a visitor, almost at the same time that the soft "Mother?" told her it was her nephew.

She looked up from her papers and rose, as she saw the sleepy and slightly frightened look on his face.

"Did you have a nightmare again Jon?" She asked softly, brushing his hair away from his face.

He shrugged but leaned into her touch looking for comfort.

"I'm too old for nightmares." He grumbled.

She chuckled. "No one is too old for nightmares. Come, let's get you to bed while you tell me all about them."

He leaned into her as they walked and put his arm around her waist. Jon had been having the nightmares since they had come back from the wall, but this one had apparently shaken him more than the others.

"It was the Ice monsters again. But this time they were making dead people do what they wanted. Only since the dead people had probably been dead for a long time they looked..." He gulped, shaking his head at the memory.

"Sh... it's okay. It's only a dream. I'll make sure no monsters ever bother you."

She put him to bed and sung to him while holding his hand until he fell asleep again., all the while her worries grew.

The nightmares were growing more detailed and there was no sign of them getting better. Did they... mean something?

She shook her head, dismissing that possibility.

She needed to tell Old Nan not to tell the boys such gruesome stories. They might be older now but that didn't mean they weren't still young children.


	12. Chapter 12

**Thank you to all the amazing people who reviewed! And also to those who favorited or followed! Can't believe this story is almost at 500! This is awesome! :)**

 **Her is the next chapter!**

* * *

Chapter Twelve – Age 30

XII

"The results of the last years of trade were incredible, my Queen. The difference that the completion of the last ports has made is clearly visible." Lord Dustin reported.

Heddara hummed, looking over the numbers presented. "I hear Ramsgate is intending to repay part of his debt?"

Lady Tallhart nodded. "The man has been very frugal. I believe he wishes to be clear of the debt as fast as possible. The port there has brought a very big influx of coin, and he decided to send it to us."

Heddara frowned. "Accept only part of it. Ramsgate is not a main port. That designation will always belong to White Harbor and Widows Watch. Now that the North is starting to become independent on several products, trade with Essos may decline, and the smaller ports will feel it the most." She drummed her fingers on the table in thought. "In fact, I believe we should order every port town to create a fund to be used in case their income drops due to a dip in trade. One never knows what may happen. Tell them these funds will not be taxed up to an acceptable amount. Lady Tallhart, please make note for us to discuss these matters latter. Make note to consider a fund in the Iron Bank for the whole Kingdom."

The Magnar of finance did as ordered, and Heddara turned to her left.

"Lord Karstark, your report please."

The older man cleared his throat, as he stretched in his seat at her attention.

"Everything is as expected, my Queen. With the Moat and ports finished and the roads long ready, I have been organizing my men to simply do routine inspections of these structures." He shrugged. "Unless my Queen wishes to build a bridge over the River then there are no more big scale works for my order at the moment."

"The buildings I requested for Winter Town?"

"They are all almost ready as well, my Queen. I admit that the request for homes in the city was much higher than I expected. My Queen was correct in her assessment."

Heddara nodded, as Lord Karstark explained how many rich merchants from White Harbor had decided to buy bigger homes as near to Winterfell as possible, and how relatively well-off farmers had purchased the smaller ones. The presence of the Healing Halls had also allowed for a higher number of inns, bars and brothels to sprout all around the town, now that they had customers during summer and not just during Winter.

"With all honesty, my Queen, I believe we should be calling it Winter City instead." The man joked as he finished his report.

"Thank you, Lord Karstark. Please turn your full attention to helping the Order of the Dawn in making sure the structures along the Wall are in acceptable conditions and in reinforcing Queenscorwn. On the same matter, we should be cautious of more Wildlings attempting to bypass the Wall through the sea, now that the Wall is better maned. The weather is certainly good enough for such trips." She stated, turning to her other Magnars to discuss the matter further.

This summer was already a long one, and there were no signs of Winter coming any time soon.

On one hand it had proven helpful in completing all the works she had commissioned. On the other, it was an omen of a terrible winter to come.

It made her good brother terribly busy. Which was a plus.

Having to constantly coordinate with all the Keeps and towns to make sure they didn't let their stored goods spoil was not a terrible hardship, especially in the North, were such things were almost second nature, but the cutting of trees for wood still required some knowledge and coordination.

No one wanted towns or Keeps feuding due to fallen trees after all. And considering that even during summer there were sometimes need for fires in the hearths, it was a full-time concern.

Thank the old gods that water was something they had in abundance. The tales of hoe fights over water usage that Oberyn had once told her of in one of his letters seemed like the worst headache of her life.

* * *

"And which banner is that one" Rohar asked pointing at another flag.

Rodrick narrowed his eyes, leaning slightly over the outer wall of Winterfell. "House Magnar, from Kingshouse? In Skagos?"

Rohar nodded, prompting Sansa to try to guess the other one. He had gathered the children for an impromptu lesson on banners of the Kingdom.

The whole Kingdom was invited for a festival in Winter Town and Winterfell, to celebrate the tenth-year anniversary of their independence. And that meant that even though Winter Town could now be called a city, many men still needed to camp in the outskirts – and in true northern fashion, many men simply did not wish to waste their coin when they very well could just spare it by camping.

Most well-off smallfolk had houses in the city or rented rooms in inns, while minor Nobles had acquired Manor Houses closer to the Keep, hoping to elevate their station amongst the court. Every single major house in the North had been invited to the guest quarters in Winterfell, which were now filled to the brim.

This festival would be a once in a lifetime opportunity to create alliances and booker betrothal and foster agreements. Which meant no one wished to miss it. Not even the most recent subjects of the North.

"Um..." Arya hesitated on her turn. "House Greyjoy?"

"That's right." He said, rubbing her hair.

The Greyjoys were only represented by a handful of members, unlike the three houses of Skagos, who had sent a big contingent on their first official visit to the throne. He knew they were thirsty to impress on the archery competitions that would be taking place.

It was one of the accomplishments he was most proud of in these ten years. The enthusiasm he had created in the North for archery, by investing in Archery competitions all over the Kingdom. Every four moons, one Keep in the North would hold a competition, and it had gotten so popular, that some men had taken to do the full circuit of the Keeps, living off of the prize money the winners received.

It kept the men in the North's skills sharp and served as a means to recruit promising archers into guard service or into the army.

Not to mention that it helped to get more and more women into the bow and arrow, as they tried to emulate their beloved Queen.

And they certainly helped to stimulate his own children, both his boys and his girls, into perfecting their fighting skills.

* * *

"I must say, I didn't believe that Skagos would get anything from straightening ties with the North, but you have followed through on all your promises, my Queen"

Heddara nodded to the man in front of her, after thanking him for the magnificent bear fur he had gifted her. Lark Magnar was though man and could easily have been confused with a Mormont or an Umber – if he was a bit taller, maybe – and she was glad that he also had a similar temperament.

This was only the second time she had met the man, and the first time in Winterfell. After her brother and Brandon Snow had defeated the Dragon terrifying the Skagosi, she had made her way North and met halfway with the Skagosi Nobles in Last Hearth, where they had sworn fealty to her, and the Northern crown.

"I am glad to hear that you feel like you belong to the North. To me Skagos is no less than Bear Island, the Lonely Hills or the Barrowlands. Every single one of the regions in my Kingdom is treated equally and given the same opportunities." She said from her post in her throne. "I believe the glasshouses have much alleviated the problems you had with food shortages after storms from the shivering seas?"

The man nodded, a glimmer in his eyes. "Yes, that is true. And your men in Skane have kept the agreement to trade goods for our lumber, pelts and fish. We are pleased with how things are going."

She accepted his last words and a present in the form of a carved wooden picture of a wolf singing to the moon in a forest, before dismissing him to turn to Lord Flint, a cousin on her Mother's side.

In a way, the Skagosi and the Ironborn had much in common. Th harsh environments they had made their homes in made it almost impossible to grow food in a stable and predictable amount. And that had pushed them towards their limits. The Skagosi to raiding Skane and wildling encampments to the point of extinction and abandonment, and the Ironborn into turning to piracy.

The Skagosi had adapted much easily into assimilation with the North, since they had never truly stopped trying to make a living from their land, as hard as it had become.

Ironborn... unfortunately were another story. Thankfully, time had shown the Iron Islanders that the North came through on its promises, rewarding them with the promised coin. The various glass houses made with Northern glass also helped assuage the fears and show the people that life was better under her rule.

Hunger was an incredible motivating factor. And proof that they wouldn't be left to die when winter came, was an even bigger one.

"My Queen." Euron Greyjoy stated, coming forward with two bundles by his side.

She greeted him back, asking him how he was doing. Greyjoy was an interesting man. Unlike most of his fellow men from the Iron Islands, he seemed more interested in gold and exotic riches than in the raiding itself. He was just as interested in buying old tomes on magic, as he was in stealing them, and she had to wander what he would be gifting her on this day.

"I bring to you two gifts to remind you, and your line, of the triumph you brought the North ten years ago." Carefully, he unwrapped the first item, revealing an elegant crown, she had once seen on top of a golden head.

"Queen Rhaella's crown, my lady." He stated, raising his hands to her, so she could pick up the gift.

The crown was lovely, filled with gemstones and delicate, as was the Targaryen's way. The contrast to the crown she wore on her head couldn't be greater, and she couldn't help but be pleased with it.

"I came across it after my altercation with the two Targaryen children. As I have told you, I found them in Lys, but had not realized at first that they had gone to the market to sell this crown. The mad boy Viserys is now being called the beggar King, for selling that crown for a pittance. I, of course immediately bought it from the merchant, making sure to give him the same amount he bought it for." The man told her, a slight scowl on his face at the reminder of his altercation with the Targaryen boy.

"The gift is very thoughtful, thank you." She said, inclining her head slightly. "I hope you remember we do not need any more confrontations with Targaryens"

He chuckled, nodding.

"I was in Pentos when I found this beauty." He said, unwrapping the last bundle, and revealing an oval stone.

Reaching over, she took it in her hands, marveling at the texture. It looked like... She gasped lightly.

"A dragon egg." She murmured.

"That is correct, my Queen." Euron said, pleased. "I believe that this will look much better in your solar, then in any fat magisters house. Time as turned the egg to stone, but I have read that Valyrian Lords could still hatch eggs like these. Maybe one day you will gift it to your nephew" His smile was mischievous as he spoke of Jon, obviously having been informed of his soon to be new status.

She thanked him once more, fascinated at the object in her hands, before bringing herself to the present and gently passing the gift to her handmaiden to be put away safely.

As much as she wanted to admire the dragon egg, she had more visitors to greet this feast.

* * *

"You had me worried, brother." Heddara said, a warm smile on her face as she gathered him in a fierce hug.

Benjen smiled, hugging her back just as strongly.

Even though he was now a grown man, he still felt like coming home every time he saw Winterfell and his sister.

"I missed you Hed" He said giving her a soft smile.

She responded with her own. "That's what you get for staying away for so long." She chuckled. "Come on. You missed the welcoming feast, Jon's legitimization as a Stark, and the archery competition. Your nephews and nieces will want to tell you all about it."

"I want to talk to you latter, tough." He said as he followed after her.

"Tonight then." She agreed easily.

* * *

"I hope you are enjoying Winterfell, young Domeric." Heddara Stark smiled at his son, making the boy smile back before looking over at him. He nodded in approval, signaling the boy to be at ease with his Queen and aunt.

His wife had died a few years previously, and he had received the proposal for a fostering from his brother with pleasure. Rohar was continuing to further their House in the North, first by becoming the greatest commander seen since the times of Theon the hungry wolf, and then through his appointment as Magner of Winter.

At first, he had seen the position as a powerless one, created just to give him a title with no power attached to it. However, as Summer went on, the smallfolk grew restless and more and more minor Lords came to him with questions and requests for glass houses. While at first a much less prestigious position than others, Winter was indeed the most serious issue in the North, and his reputation had grown in all the Kingdom.

"I have discussed with your father your fostering here with your cousins, and he has accepted." She nodded to him, a gesture he returned.

Indeed, this fostering would make sure that through the next generation, the Bolton name would continue to be seen as a mighty house of the North. As his son formed friendships with the Princes of the North, he would be in the perfect position to be named to the Council when Rodrick Stark was crowned.

"You will be joined by Dacey Mormont here in Winterfell, so there is no reason to fear being the only fosterling" She smile once more. Maybe a woman's touch would do his son good, but he hoped the warrior in the woman would make sure that she wouldn't smother the boy with sweetness. He shook such thoughts from his mind. Stark had proven a true Queen until now, so he should keep his trust that the woman new how to raise children. Her own seemed to be growing true. "She is over there with the other children already. Why don't you join them?"

His son did so, after excusing himself from his Queen and his father.

"Your son has grown a strong lad, my lord" She stated, turning to him.

"Thank you" he stated calmly.

"I have spoken to Lady Dustin. She showed an interest in taking over her nephews training eventually and in gifting him with a horse. I believe that would be advantageous to him. We will come to an agreement in a few years."

"That sounds reasonable." Anything that would endear his heir to other Northern Nobles, was always an advantage. "Will the heirs to the Iron Islands be staying as well?"

The Queen nodded. "Theon and Yara will stay after these festivities, as Lord Harlaw requested, as they are now old enough. Their younger cousin... I have heard tales that his mother is conspiring to make him lord, wishing to keep him with her as long as possible, showing him off to Ironborn Lords in order to garner their favor."

Roose narrowed his eyes. "She might use the fact that he is the only one raised in the Islands to gain supporters."

"That is my though also. Which is why I will be appointing Lord Harlaw as Governor tonight. It will show that I favor the man and his approach. The woman will see that keeping her son to herself would be a disadvantage, since _I_ would not know him, and could veto his candidacy."

That was a good approach of things. He didn't doubt the Ironborn woman would be sending a raven for a fostering before the next moon was over.

His Queen was as sharp as she had been ten years ago. If things went well, his son would come out a Lord in a few years.

* * *

The grand feast was finally over when brother and sister met again, this time in her solar.

"What incredible news do you have for me, brother, that could not wait until tomorrow?" She asked in good humor, laying down on a long chair Benjen had brought her from Pentos the last time he had been there, with Storm at her feet.

Benjen sighed, sitting himself down and propping his feet on the edge of his sister's desk.

"Tomorrow we should discuss things with Rohar, Howland Reed, and some others." He said, his face turning serious.

"What is it?" She asked, turning to face him and bringing her feet down to the floor, as Storm raised his head in attention.

"Things beyond the Wall..." He hesitated. "The Order of the Dawn is doing a good job considering the little time they've had to do anything at all, but strange things are going on."

Heddara frowned. "How strange?"

"There is a man that gives information to the Watch that lives in a house full of women he calls his wives. That only give birth to daughters that never leave that house."

Heddara narrowed her eyes. "What happens to the sons?"

Benjen smiled lightly, unsurprised at his sister's quick mind.

"According to the Wildlings living in the proximities, he offers them as sacrifices to the Others."

Heddara's affronted and disgusted face was probably a mirror of his own when he had first been told of the news.

She shook her head, no doubt trying to clear her mind of such images. "Disgusting as it may be, I can do nothing about it. I have no jurisdiction beyond the Wall." She sighed. "Do I want to know how you've gotten close enough to Wildlings to interact with them without losing your head?"

Benjen laughed. "They think I'm one of them. I sure look the part with this beard!"

Heddara snorted, though she had to admit that with looser clothes and some furs around him, he would look the part of the fearsome Wildling.

"What else have you found, beyond the sick man that prays and sacrifices his sons to the Others?"

Benjen's face turned serious once more. "No one ever found signs of the boy's corpses or bones. It is as if they disappear in the night." He frowned, his worried eyes finding hers. "People are coming down from the true North, with talks of the dead walking in the Lands of Always Winter. There is dissent amongst the tribes there, that call themselves the Then. More and more people come down with talks of their camps being attacked by monsters from old tales. Monsters that are dead and decomposed but still walk and run like they are ale."

Heddara felt herself pale at the story, her hands fisting in Storms fur.

"And through all this, Mance Rayder has deserted to beyond the Wall and seems to be banding together different groups of Wildlinngs. Word around is that he will make himself King Beyond the Wall eventually." He shook his head. "You were right about Mance when you met him last year. Lord Qorgyle should never have raised him to be a brother of the watch, he should have sent him to a Keep."

Heddara swallowed. "Jon has been having dreams. I thought they were nightmares due to more gruesome stories the boys asked from Old Nan. But now..." She wondered, if the mix of Stark with Targaryen blood in her nephew had awakened old gifts of Old Valyria. "Daenys the Dreamer... Could Jon be looking into what may be one day?"

Ben sighed. "Beyond the Wall, you can see many gifts of Old. Wargs are quite common there, so are tales of greenseers, although true ones are much rarer. Some claim to have seen children of the forest near a certain area in the Haunted Forest. I intend to look for them on my next expedition." He pinched his nose. "I like this not Hed. I would hear of Jon's dreams. I fear that we must prepare for the worst. Summer has gone for so long without signs of waning, that I fear the next Winter could last a generation, and you and I both know that there has only been one winter like that ever recorded."

Heddara nodded, her face as hard as stone as she shared Jon's dreams.

The only Winter ever recorded to last that long had been so many millennia before, that only stories had reached them.

No one was prepared for another long Night.

* * *

"What do you think of this, brother?" Victarion asked, as they came outside after the feast. "You seem content, but I never saw how that could be when you always enjoyed the rage of a good raid."

Euron huffed. "I enjoyed the batle lust, yes. But Balon was a stick in the mud. Always keeping it safe, raiding the summer islands. And when he grew a pair he had to be a stupid fuck and go after the most well-known warrior of our times. Like being a woman had stopped Heddara Stark from gaining independence." He snorted. "I tell you brother, if Balon had left the North alone, he would probably had won his rebellion."

Victarion narrowed his eyes. "And you have no problem now serving that woman?"

Euron rolled his eyes. "Why, brother, don't tell me that _you_ do?"

His brother shook his head. "I have no problems, as strange as that may sound. The men I served under were harsh, but fair. And Lord Manderly is also a good fleet commander."

"Then why should I have any problems?" Euron asked. "The places we see are rich, brother. I care not to raid the North or the Westerlands when the true riches lie across the narrow sea."

"You have brought our Queen many gifts." Victarion said, his eyes narrowed.

He chuckled, giving his brother a smirk. "I conned a few merchants into selling me goods they had promised to others. It was nothing extraordinary." He rolled his eyes at his brother's frown. "Fear not brother. I have no wish to surpass you as a reliable captain for the position of batle ship captain. You can go guard ships transporting goods and people or survey the coast beyond the wall for any wildlings trying to make a break for it. I want something else."

"And what would that be?"

His smile was as bloodthirsty as when he went into battle. "I want Valyria."

* * *

Heddara held her head in her hands, wondering what to do.

Everything was going well. Just as she had hoped for. Her Kingdom was finally secured, her subjects loyal. The Ironborn were slowly, but surely, coming into the fold.

And now this. What should she do.

"It's going to be alright" Rohar whispered, coming down on one knee to pull her hands back and hug her.

Heddara let out a breath. "We don't know that." She closed her eyes, steeling herself against this new enemy. "But you are right. We can prepare. And we will."

Rohar looked at her, considering. "What are you thinking?"

Her eyes were fierce as she looked up at him. "I need to speak with Old Nan. We need to take away their army, and to find ways to kill these creatures of Winter."

Rohar nodded, rubbing her arm. "Summer is still here though. We will have time to prepare."

"The Gods help us, it will have to be long enough."


	13. Chapter 13

**Thank you for the reviews! I'm over 500 follows, which is amazing since it is the first time ever for one of my stories! Thank you all!**

 **This is the last chapter. There is only the epilogue left.**

 **Read the A/N at the end for more details! :)**

* * *

Chapter Thirteen – Age 31

XIII

"Mamma" A sleepy voice called from the door, prompting Heddara to get up to unlock it.

Bran's face was white, his eyes wide and tearful.

"Come in sweetling. What is the matter?" She asked in a whisper, picking her son up and bringing him with her to her bed, after barring the door once more.

"Bad dream." He murmured, hiding his face in her neck as they got into the bed. Rohar still snoring softly.

"What about?" She asked, sleep trying to claim her once more.

"There was a scary man, like in Old Nan's stories, and he was trying to hurt uncle Ben. But uncle Ben used a torch to burn it." He said with a sniffle.

She brushed a kiss on his forehead. "Then everything is fine. Uncle Ben was safe. Don't worry, it was just a dream."

Bran nodded, hugging her tightly, and soon falling back to sleep.

She followed, many moments later, after sending a prayer to the gods that her son would not get the sight.

* * *

Bran didn't get any more dreams, at least for the moment. But Benjen sent a letter soon from Castle Black, regaling her with a story.

A story on how he had been attacked by a wight while searching for clues on the children of the forest and had survived by lighting the creature on fire with his torch.

It was what she needed to call a full council once more.

* * *

Euron quickly made his way into the Council chambers after being called in by a court secretary.

"My Queen" He said, kneeling. "My Lords"

It had been strange when the Queen had kept the Lords in Winterfell after the festivities were over and most nobles had already started to make their ways home.

Almost a moon they had been in talks, and the result had been a focus of the builders and workers on the holdings in the New Gift and the Wall.

Queens Crown had been swiftly raised to his former glory, the underwater causeway that led to the island where the Tower sat had been repaired and secured, the village in the shores of the lake brought back to living conditions and the Tower itself had been brought back to its full military potential, being repaired and garnished.

The Order of the Dawn now resided there, controlling the village and the trade that went to the Wall by land. Glass houses had been added to the village, and the full garrison stationed there had given people enough confidence to once more inhabit the rebuilt houses. It also helped that soldiers always had coin to spend on drinks and women.

The presence of the Order had greatly reduced the number of wildlings crossing over, but as predicted, more and more tried their hand at crossing by sea.

New orders had been issued by the Queen that any wildlings found at land or at sea should be given four choices: death, return to the lands beyond the Wall, kneel to the Queen's laws, or a one-way trip to Essos.

For some reason, Queen and Council had decided that the wildlings were worth the effort of ferrying them to the other continent – and that was what was happening, as that was what almost every single one of those shits had chosen.

Not that many people were against it. He certainly wasn't. The less Wildlings beyond the Wall, the less Wildlings that could cause problems in the future. Even if he thought that killing them all would have been much simpler.

And then there were the burnings.

Now that had caused a stir.

Most Northerners already burned their dead. It was an old tradition from the time of First Men, but it was not a written Law. Until now, that was.

Most smallfolk had found it strange, wondering and gossiping on why such thing was needed.

In the end, most people seemed to think that Good Queen Heddara was against the waist of land for the use of cemeteries, like the Southerners did, and seemed fine enough with just burning the dead. It was a much more regal end after all.

Euron was not so certain. He had already caught a few wildlings trying to avoid Eastwatch by-the-sea in dingy row boats and hastily made rafts. They had been surprised by the chance at going to Essos, and had, distractingly, taken the offer.

Their wide eyes at seeing the other continent had been full of hope, saying how they would never have to knell to Southrons. Euron had had no qualms in telling them of the dangers of slavers, and how kneeling to the Queen in the North was most definitely the better choice.

Most of those people, he had no doubt, would leave Bravos, where they had left them, and try their luck south, in Pentos. Bravos was a very harsh city to foreigners, especially those it considered barbarians. Pentos, with its trade with the Dothraki would be easier to maneuver in, but he had no doubt that most would find themselves under a Magister's soldier sword, probably an unsullied, after offending one of the fat shits.

Some of the wildlings though, spoke of strange things that had brought them south. That had made them desperate to try to brave the seas to cross the ice.

And those things left him with a disquiet that was hard to explain.

So, to be called back to Winterfell, less than a year since he had last been there, was worrying.

"Captain Greyjoy." The Queen greeted him. "Please raise. We have much to talk about."

The tale that followed was a confirmation of his worst fears and nightmares.

"Can they swim" He asked, suddenly. At the confused looks he got from the Lords he explained further. "The wights, you called them. Can they swim?" And that, was the worst fear of all.

The Queen shook her head. "As much as we know, they can't." She explained. "My brother has seen one, and promptly burned it to ashes, so we have no evidence to support these claims, but everything points to an inability to swim. Some wildlings have reported swimming across a river to run from them." She frowned in worry. "At the same time, all the scriptures we have found on the Long Night say that the Others magic froze the land to such a way were rivers and lakes froze over to a point where it took hours to dig over a river until you found liquid water below."

He gulped, imagining the consequences. If the ice went all the way south, could they freeze the sea between the Stepstones and cross to Essos?

"What do you want from me?" He asked, finally.

His Queen nodded, looking him in the eyes. "You have always shown an interest in the mystic arts, wanting permission to look further into these issues. Wanting to visit Valyria."

She raised then, going around the semi-round table to where he sat in front of it. "I am giving you a different status. I believe you are the only one that can search for what we need. I want you to sail to Essos, to Quarth, to Ashai, to the shadowlands. Anywhere you wish to go, as long as you look for ways to fight this enemy that is once again rising." She extended a scroll to him, that he accepted automatically, still focusing on her words.

"I know not when our enemy will attack. It could be in a few years, or in a few decades. The state of things between the Wildlings will be our way of gaging the enemy's movements. I know not how long you have to look, but I ask that you send word frequently. Apart from that, I ask only that you follow the Laws of your country, that you never take a slave, and that you only approach Valyria when you have found a way to guarantee yours and your crew's survival."

He nodded, incredulous at the outcome of this meeting.

"Do you accept this task, Euron Greyjoy?" The Queen asked.

"Yes" He said, his smirk finally returning to him.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Next chapter is the epilogues plus a small annex (smaller than the last time, I promise!) where I will explain why I chose certain things and not others.**

 **If you have any questions you would like me to answer, please leave a review!**


	14. Chapter 14

Epilogue

Meanwhile, South of the Neck and across the sea

* * *

Sitting with his elbows on his knees, his hands hanging loose between his legs, Jaime shook his head in anguish as he let his sister continue to prattle in her excitement.

He would have forgiven her words, if it had been just the words. But it was not just that.

Why did his sister always want the crown more than him? If she loved him so, she should want what was best for him too. Not just for her.

So why was she speaking as if he would go back to the Kingsguard like the war had never happened. Like all was well.

She assumed he would, because she was here. But he didn't want to. Like he hadn't the first time around.

He was not a perfect heir and would never be as good as his father in politics, but Casterly Rock had been _his_. And now it could be again. Why didn't Cersei consider his happiness in her plans?

Why was he the one who always had to prove his love.

"I'm going home after your wedding" He stated, finally looking up.

"What do you mean, you're going home?" She said, coming to a halt in her pacing. "As a member of the Kingsguard you can't leave the Royal Family alone.

He shook his head again. "I don't want to retake my vows, Cersei."

Her face turned furious. "Why the hell not? It's all we ever planned! We finally made it!"

He snorted. "No, sister. It is not like we planned. It is like you planed." He sighed, turning sad eyes at the woman he now realized would never truly love him more than her quest for power. "You wanted to be queen, but you wanted me around too, as side pastime. You can't have both."

"What has gotten into you Jaime! We talked about this before! All you have to do is go to Robert and swear a stupid oath and everything will be perfect!" She cried out, coming over to kiss him.

Turning his face so their lips wouldn't meet, he shook his head once more as he gently pushed her away.

"I spent three years under oath to protect a King. And in those three years I saw horrors you can't even imagine. I stayed put as those horrors happened, because of those oaths. I'm never swearing such a thing again while I still breathe."

Cersei huffed, sneering at him. "Please, like a couple of dead peasants are so terrible to see. I never took you for a spineless craven brother."

Jaime let out a humorless laugh. "Do you know what it is like, Cersei, to smell human flesh burning? To hear a woman being rapped and not being able to do a thing? To hear a man cackling in his insanity and knowing you must die for such a creature?" He sneered back, getting up. "And yet, you never even asked If I was well. As soon as you saw me you just went on and on about your marriage. How much can you love me, if you never even care?"

Her face softened, bringing her hand up to his face. "I'm sorry Jaime. You are right. It was inconsiderate of me. Please, stay. I will help you. We can make new memories here. Good ones"

His heart wanted to fall into her, like in old, easier, times, but at the same time, he knew he couldn't. For him, it had always been Cersei before Jaime, but for her, it had never been him first. For once in his life, it was time to be selfish.

"I can't. I don't want to." Her hand left his cheek only to meet it again in a resounding slap.

"How dare you! Leaving me here alone to these spiders and snakes at court!"

"You never had a problem with that before. I'm certain that father will leave you with many Lannister man and servants."

He turned around to leave the room, before they could get started again.

"You will never be a good Lord of the Rock." She screamed to his back. "It should have been me!"

"But it is me." He said, strongly. "And it is mine. And now you are Queen, as was your dream. Good luck, sister."

He left her there, ears def to her answer.

It was time to put Jaime before Cersei.

* * *

"It shouldn't be the Lannister girl Jon." Robert lamented, as he took another swing of his bottle.

"But it is, nothing to do about it." Jon said, as he finished writing another letter. "The preparations for the wedding will be done in time for your brother to come back from Dragonstone. His wedding can be in the days after yours."

His once ward grumbled. "Should have made him stay in that bloody island."

Jon shook his head. "You and I both know that Hoster Tully would have a conniption if you sent his daughter to what would basically be exile. No, Robert. Dragonstone is the Heir's seat. If you want to punish your brother, give it to Renly until you have a son."

Robert grumbled, but nodded in resignation.

"Go get some sleep, your practically dead on your feet" Jon said with a sigh.

"I definitely feel like it." Robert murmured, as he shakily got to his feet.

* * *

"And you don't think they could become dangerous? The Moat is practically finished!" Robert said, slamming his fist on the table.

Jon sighed. Of all the days Robert could have chosen to attend the Small Council, it had to be today. Or maybe the fault laid at Lord Varys' little birds for coincidently choosing that day to deliver news on the North.

Jon Arryn might believe in coincidences, but never when related to the Spider.

"Your Majesty" Lord Varys placated, his honeyed voice easily filling the whole room. "The Moat has never been used as a means of assault. It is simply a defensive fortress. At the moment Heddara Stark is too busy at playing mother and merchant to look south of the Neck."

Robert frowned.

"You might be right. But I want more ships. The ones lost at Dragonstone haven't been replaced yet, and with those blasted Starks building more and more of those, we can be at a disadvantage."

"Of course, your Majesty. It seems like a wonderful idea."

Jon took note of the Kings wishes and was happy when the subject changed to whether or not they should accept those new Northern Lamps at court, or if it would be considered unpatriotic to buy them.

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes as Robert rebuffed the proposal to buy one to test its usefulness. No matter, he would give it a few years, until Robert saw them in some place – possibly a brothel – and conveniently forgot they were made by his supposed 'enemy' and ordered them to buy some.

* * *

"The North is sending quite a few students again. I wonder why..." The young Maester mumbled.

A noisy snort came from behind him, frightening him into jumping in his seat and hastily turning around.

"A-Archmaester!" He quickly jumped to his feet and bowed in respect at the much older man. "I'm sorry if I disturbed you, I thought you had already retired for the night!"

"Uh, you know, in my town they used to say that 'Thinking is what kills an ass".

The younger man felt his cheeks flame at the comment. "Ah... I was just finishing with the new recruits for this moon, Archmaester."

"Yes, yes. I heard you mumble about the Northerners. I am old, but my ears are as good as they were when I was still a lad. Seems like they are finally taking the time to learn something." The old man took the papers keen eyes roving over the names and numbers still glistening in them.

"But.. Don't you think it is strange for the Citadel to accept students from a... rival Kingdom?" The Maester asked, uncertain.

The Archmaester shook his head with a sigh. "Foolish boy." He said, rolling up the papers and hitting the younger man with the roll as punishment for an apparently obvious mistake. "The Citadel cares not for who sits on what throne. It accepts students from all over this world. Westeros, Essos, Sothoryos. There is no care for who they are, as long as they pay the necessary tuition. They could very well be those ice monsters from the Northerners tales for all we care. Understood?"

"A-a, yes sir!"

* * *

"They killed a bloody Dragon?" Robert asked, eyes wide.

Varys nodded. "Apparently one of those wild ones that went missing after the Dance was killing of the Skagosi. The Company of the Rose was responsible for the deed."

Robert huffed, before a smirk made its way into her face.

"Apparently those Northern bastards are useful for something. A day when a Dragon dies, is a good day for me! More wine boy!"

* * *

Tywin Lannister looked out of his solar's window, contemplating the figure training on the courtyard.

He crumbled the letter in his hands, succumbing to the fury that had risen inside him at the contents.

He had always known his daughter was foolish, but never had he thought it could reach such a point. The things she said in her letter to Jaime. If they were true...

He sneered. Of course, they were true, what else could they be?

Now he understood why his son had refused to go back to Kings Landing even once in the last few years.

At least she was smart enough to not entrust this letter to a raven and had used a Lannister man to deliver it in person. Thankfully the man had entrusted it to him instead of his son.

He needed to get the boy a wife. He was two a six now. Almost ten years since he had been released from his vows, and he was still not married.

Narrowing his eyes, he remembered his performance during the Greyjoy Rebellion. Jaime seemed at home with some of the Northerners, seemingly relaxing in their candid and bashful ways.

It was true that you could expect honesty and a lack of fakeness from them, that was not found easily in the southern courts. Between them there seemed to be no interest in games of power. Not counting the Bolton Lord, of course. That one, was shrewd as a snake.

It would be good for his son, and for his house to have a trustworthy Lady, but at the same time, if she was too trusting, she would easily be eaten alive by the other Lords and Ladies of the Westerlands.

Maybe he should contact Heddara Stark on the issue.

He owed her a debt, and Lannisters always paid their debts.

* * *

"What did you do!" Oswell growled, as he grabbed the boy from the back of his tunic and howled him to his bed.

He ignored the boy's whimpers and treats as he checked him for broken bone. Thankfully, only his nose needed to be put back into place, even though his eyes and lips were very bruised.

"Why did I arrive to find the two of you gone!"

Viserys ignored him, choosing to simply glare back at him. Turning to Daenerys, he gave her his best reproachful and disappointed look he could muster, knowing she would cave in an instant.

"I... we went to the market. To sell mothers crown. Viserys said we needed more money for passage to Pentos"

He sighed. "if you wanted to sell her crown, you should have let me do it. I bet they didn't pay half of its worth"

Daenerys hang her head. "But it's enough now, for the passage."

Oswell shook his head. "And he ended up like this!" He said pointing at her brother. "if you had let me take care of it, it wouldn't have happened. What were you thinking? Don't you understand how dangerous it is for to simply walk on around?"

"He said the North killed a Dragon." Viserys said, prompting him to turn around.

He frowned. "Who did?"

"The man that hurt Viserys. He got mad when he talked bad about the Queen in the North, and that's why he beat him. He said... he said father burned people alive... Is it true?" The young girl's eyes were big with fear, her lip trembling.

Viserys scoffed. "Of course it's a lie!"

Oswell sighed. "I'm calling a Maester. And then you will tell me everything that man said." At Daenerys attempt at interrupting him, he raised his hand and shook his head. "I will answer your questions after that."

* * *

"What is it, Stanis?"

The man in question looked up from his letter, letting his frown clear his face as he nodded to his wife.

"Renly tells me that the North is opening negotiations for a trade agreement with Dragonstone."

He was pleased to see that Catelyn frowned herself at the news. While his wife always took her proper place in their marriage, taking care of their children and their household as she should, he was pleased with the fact that she was not a brainless twit.

It had certainly made their union easier. That, and the fact that they had the same sense of duty to honor and family.

"What could they possibly want with Dragonstone?" She asked, confused. "There is nothing of value there. It's simply the seat to the heir of the throne."

"That is true. And now that there is an heir, Renly is only overseeing it while young Joffrey is too young." He looked down at the letter once more frowning again.

"So, what do they want?" his oldest son, Steffon, asked, as he deftly took back the saltshaker from his younger sibling, so he wouldn't ruin his supper.

"They want dragonglass."

The boy looked confused. "I thought dragonglass wasn't good for anything much."

He nodded. "It isn't, and that is the problem." The boy's mind was quick. He was quick on his feet too. Just like Robert had been, but with the added benefit of having something else between his ears. He should have his master of arms step up his training.

Thank the gods his son showed promise and had clearly taken after his Baratheon ancestors. His brother's child was all Lannister in looks.

Catelyn shook her head. "Let us forget about this. It is none of our business what those strange northerners want with dragonglass. Probably just want to use it for some savage ritual anyway."

* * *

"How many have chosen to stay?"

"Almost sixty now Dara."

She sighed, pulling her feet up into Storms back and ignoring his huff of mock annoyance.

Beside her, Rohar rubbed circles around her hand, hoping she would relax after so many days of stressful meetings.

"Even though there are more and more Wildlings trying to flee, the numbers can't compare to those still beyond the wall. Mance Raider is rallying most of them for a land cross, instead of a journey by sea." She said, sighing in pleasure as he started to rub her neck.

"They would never be able to build enough boats." He reasoned. "The one who try to cross do so in dingy things, that would never be able to carry more than three or four."

She hummed in agreement, and he could see her face becoming distant, as it did when she was considering all her options.

"What is it? Are you surprised that so many chose to stay? Lately more and more have done so."

"Yes and no. According to the numbers we are getting from Lord Manderly, it's still half and half on staying or going. I'm more surprised that no problems have arisen yet."

Rohar shook his head. "Your lords are trustworthy and understand the danger ahead. It also helps that most of those wildlings have settled in Land under the purview of the order of the Dawn, and that Hornwood man is a damned good commander. He treats them fairly and makes sure there are no problems with the smallfolk. And the wildlings respect him as a warrior, that is something they have always bended the knee to, even if they didn't call it that.

"That is true." She said, distractingly.

He smirked, lifting his eyebrow as he bended over to look at her upside down.

"You're still thinking about something, or are my skills at rubbing necks enough to distract you?"

She chuckled, raising her head to give him a kiss. "They are, but I was thinking that we should get to know more about these new people."

"Why is that?"

"I think that it is time to wake the old gifts in the North once again. And the Wildlings may know how to do that."

* * *

Jorah groaned, rubbing his face.

What should he do! Lynesse was lovely, a rose among roses, but she was used to luxuries that simply did not exist in Bear Island.

Not because they couldn't afford them – though they couldn't for most of them – but because they had no use for them.

He had ordered some bathing salts and other such things for his wife and already he had caught his aunt and her daughters whispering about it, contempt in their words, talking of the wasted money and resources.

And already Lynesse wanted more. She wanted to be courted with flowers every day, like he had done in Highgarden. She wanted her sheets smelling of roses, like in the Reach. She wanted bauble to put on her hair, or on her dresses. She wanted beautiful fabrics and seamstresses to work on them.

And he wanted to give all of it to her, because she deserved it!

But Bear Island did not have natural flowers besides wild ones, and though he could use a small space in a glasshouse for some flowers, there would never be as many as in Highgarden. He could buy all those things to his wife, he could, but not without tipping into their Winter Fund, something that Maege would certainly notice.

Lynesse was growing more and more restless, and he didn't know what to do!

* * *

Heddara looked over the castle walls at dawn, as a wolf cry was heard over the forest.

She sighed. A fortnight before, Storm had gone out to hunt and had not come back. She knew her companion was alright, since she had taken care to warg with him frequently.

She was just sullen because he had left her for another woman.

Turning around, she went back into the Keep to prepare for the day. She couldn't begrudge Storm the opportunity for company from his own species, though it worried her that another direwolf had somehow found his way this far south.

It was another sign that things might not be as they seemed.

Mayhaps it was time to gift Jon the dragon egg. He might get something out of the old rock.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **A proverb in my country is that "Thinking is what killed the ass" ass as in donkey. It is a specially funny prover because 'donkey' in my language is said using the same word as 'dumb'.**

* * *

Annex

Here are the questions that I received for the last few chapters:

 **Why (and How!) is Jorah Mormont marrying Lynesse Hightower again?**

I figured I wanted the option of Jorah being exiled. The whole thing that sometimes for more that things change some will stay the same and all that.

Now it's your turn to help me figure out what should happen. Should Jorah find a way to keep his wife happy and his finances in check? Should he do the same thing as in cannon? Should he stay in the North? Go to Danny? All of the above?

Anyway, Lynesse will not be changing from cannon, because I see no reason why she should, so the options are limited.

Help me out in the Pol!

 **Why is Heddara having so many children? Isn't that bad when she is a warrior Queen?**

Heddara and Rohar have a very happy marriage. In order for her to not get pregnant she would need to drink moon tea every day, and I would say that that is probably not very healthy. If you compare it to Cersei, she and Robert probably only shared the same bed a couple of days a month, like in middle age Royal weddings.

On another note, Maege Mormont also had five daughters, and she is an amazing warrior, so I don't think that having five children takes away from Heddara's fierceness.

 **How many people does the North have and how many people are in its army?**

I never actually stopped to consider numbers before. I see the North as having at least the same population as any other Kingdom of the "Seven" Kingdoms. It is much bigger, so the populations are more dispersed, but it would have the same amount of people as the Westerlands or the Riverlands or the Reach.

In terms of an army, in "The Princess of Winter", the North could raise around the same amount as the other Kingdoms also, but as the other Kingdoms, most of those men were not very well trained. Now the Kingdom has a standing army and most of the adult population is trained in archery. Still not sure about numbers though. I'll think about it. Need to do some research first.

 **Why not conquer the 3 sisters?**

Just like Heddara couldn't just barge into Pike when the Greyjoy Rebellion started, because those islands belonged to Baratheon, she can't just invade the 3 sisters. They belong to House Arryn (even if they are to the Vale, what Skagos was to the North) and taking then would be a declaration of war. Besides, there is no real incentive into occupying those islands right now.

 **Will Heddara treat with the Wildlings? Isn't that better than sending more people to Essos to possibly become enemies?**

Most of these questions you will have to wait and see.

Why send the wildlings to Essos? Let's be honest, most Wildlings would cause trouble in the North. They would not be able to adapt to the feudal system and would refuse to accept the law of the land. It would cause trouble with her bannermen if Heddara made them accept these people in their land.

It is not like they will be a problem in Essos, even there they will find it hard to blend in, because even if there are no Kings there, there is always ruler and the ruled, and they will always have to kneel in some way. And most people in Essos don't really care about Westeros anyway.

 **Why make the Iron Islands part of the North in the first place? It's not worth the trouble.**

Leaving the iron Islands under Baratheon was a big risk. They had just attacked, what guarantee did they have that they wouldn't do it again in the future?

To avoid that, there were two options. She either killed them all and raised those islands to the ground, or she took control of them herself.

Now I don't see Heddara condoning killing off all the people in those Islands, including the children and the elderly. And she would have to, because leaving angry children with a thirst for revenge around would just be stupid!

So, the only logical option was to take control of the Islands herself.

 **Isn't the reaction of the Ironborn too optimistic?**

Ironborn are pirates, mostly because the environment where their home is, is not conductive to much else. That is not exactly an excuse, but it is a reason. Hunger can make men do terrible things. At the same time, being assured that you will never feel such hunger, can make you loyal to those who guarantee your safety.

Heddara has taken that reason away and is showing them other possibilities. Of course, not everyone is happy, but the younger generations will grow in this way and in the future, they will no longer even consider raiding as a possibility.

 **I want to see Mammoths!**

So, first I thought it would be very hard to do that. How could I get them to cross south of the Wall when they are so big? Would they survive south of the wall?

Some research told me that they are not actually that big. On average they were around the same size as Asian Elephants, around 2.5 to 3 m tall at the shoulder. Most Castle gates in Europe are much taller than that, so they could easily accommodate an Elephant/Mammoth.

Environment wise, I believe it could also be possible for mammoths to live, as the new gift and the gift are grasslands with cold environments where they could live and graze comfortably.

So, getting adult mammoths to come south is actually feasible. Guess you will have to wait and see if they come down or not!

* * *

 **This story is finished!**

 **Next part "The Emperess of Winter" will be out eventualy. Don't expect anything until october or november at least.**

 **I still have to plan everything out, and then write it.**

 **Have a good summer!**


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